Content
- 1 Do I need to prune cherries
- 2 Types of cherry pruning
- 3 Cherry pruning in spring
- 4 Pruning cherries in summer
- 5 Several methods of forming a cherry crown
- 6 Tips for beginner gardeners
- 7 Conclusion
Cherry pruning is an essential procedure that performs many tasks. With the help of pruning, the appearance of the tree is formed, which is maximally adapted for good fruiting.
In addition, the procedure helps to get rid of old, broken, dry and diseased branches, which significantly rejuvenates the tree and contributes to its long life.
Do I need to prune cherries
For someone who at least once came across a wild-growing fruit tree, this question is not worth it. Without pruning, the cherry will very soon turn into an overgrown, sloppy tree, the fruits are crushed, and the crown will thicken strongly. This will worsen the access of air to the inside of the crown, there will be foci of high humidity, which, in turn, will lead to the development of fungal diseases.
Types of cherry pruning
There are several types of cherry pruning, and each of them is done with a specific purpose.
- Formative. It is carried out during the first few years of life. The purpose of pruning is to form the crown of a tree of the desired shape. The time of the event is early spring.
- Anti-aging. It is carried out with the aim of replacing old shoots that have ceased to yield with younger ones. Allows you to significantly rejuvenate an old tree and prolong its active fruiting. Older trees rejuvenate in spring.
- Sanitary. Its purpose is to rid the tree of dry, broken, dead and sick shoots. It is carried out in a planned manner in spring and autumn, as well as during the fruiting period in case of emergency, for example, damage to branches under the weight of the fruit.
Cherry pruning in spring
Spring pruning of cherries is a rather responsible procedure. The video at the link below will help you understand its essence and avoid mistakes.
When to prune cherries in spring
The timing of spring pruning of sweet cherry depends on the region of its growth.During this procedure, the tree must be at rest. For pruning, you need to choose a time when the average daily temperature will stay above 0 degrees Celsius, but the growing season for cherries has not yet begun, i.e. the kidneys have not yet begun to swell.
Depending on the region, this time falls from early March (for southern regions) to early April (for more northern areas).
When you can cut dry branches on cherries
All dry, broken, frost-damaged branches are removed at the same time as the main pruning. Particular attention should be paid to the condition of the tree bark. Branches damaged by rodents or showing traces of fungal diseases must also be removed. After pruning, all cuts and cuts must be disinfected using an aqueous solution of copper sulfate, and the sawn branches must be burned.
How to prune cherries correctly
There are several schemes that allow you to form a cherry crown in a certain way. With the help of annual pruning, the following types of crown can be formed:
- Stop leader.
- Australian bush.
- Bowl.
- Sparse tiered.
- Spanish bush.
- Vogel.
- Flat crown.
- Triangle.
- Bushy.
- Spindle.
Most often, gardeners form at cherry tree sparse-tiered crown or bowl-shaped.
Formation of the crown of a sweet cherry in the form of a bowl
The formation of a cherry crown in the form of a bowl is carried out with the following purpose:
- Reduce the growth of the tree, thereby making it easier to harvest from the upper tier.
- Lighten the crown by increasing the amount of sunlight entering the crown.
- Reduce the thickening of the crown.
The bowl is formed as follows. After planting at a height of 0.5 m, the seedling is pinched. 5-6 shoots are left, evenly spaced around the circumference of the trunk. If necessary, they are folded back so that they form the skeleton of the bowl.
Subsequently, all branches that grow inside the bowl must be cut out.
Rejuvenating cherry pruning in spring: scheme
Rejuvenating pruning in the spring may be necessary for an adult tree if there is a steady decrease in its fruiting. In this case, instead of fruiting and weakened old branches, new ones must be grown. For this, the third part of the shoots older than 5 years is annually harvested. After several seasons, the newly emerging shoots will completely form a new crown.
Cherry pruning to reduce upward growth
An adult cherry is a tall and powerful tree, so harvesting from the very top is very problematic. This issue can be partially solved at the stage of forming the crown of a tree, forming it flat or in the form of a bowl.
Tying weights to branches is also widely used; under their weight, the shoots take a horizontal position. Various spacers and clothespins are also used to direct the growth of the shoot not upwards, but to the side.
Subsequently, the shoot will become lignified and remain in such a horizontal or inclined position.
Is it possible to cut flowering cherries
Blooming cherries should not be pruned. The flowering period is a time of intense sap flow, so any branch that has been shortened can simply dry out.
How to prune young cherries: scheme
The formation of the cherry crown begins from the first year of planting it in open ground. Depending on the type of crown being formed, pruning schemes are different.
Pruning old cherries
Pruning of old cherries is done in spring and summer. At this time, old branches of 6–8 years old are removed. It is better to stretch this procedure for several years, cutting out no more than 30% of the old crown at a time. Fruiting is transferred to the side branches, this simplifies both sanitary work with the tree and harvesting.
Pruning cherries in summer
The traditional time for pruning fruit trees is spring and autumn. However, cherries are also pruned in summer.
The video below shows the main nuances of summer pruning of cherries.
Is it possible to prune cherries in summer
In the summer, you can and even need to cut cherries.At this time, excess green shoots, thickening the crown, tops are removed, dry branches are cut out, unnoticed in the spring during sanitary pruning.
When can you prune cherries in summer
Summer pruning is done in two stages. The first stage is crown thinning. It is done after the leaves bloom. The second stage takes place after the harvest.
Cherry pruning in summer after flowering
After the end of the flowering period, when foliage appears on the branches, you can start cleaning and thinning the crown. In early spring, it is difficult to determine which branches survived the winter well and which are frozen. In the summer, everything is in sight. Leaves will simply not bloom on dead branches, so they need to be removed. If a fungus appears on the shoots, they are also cut out and burned.
How to form cherries using the pinching method
Panning is the pinching of the tip of a growing shoot. It can be done simply with a fingernail, if the shoot is woody - with a garden knife or pruner. Panning retards the growth of the shoot and gives an impetus to the growth of lateral branches. Panning reduces the growth of the tree, but increases its yield. In this way, you can stop the growth of the shoot in the wrong direction and direct it where necessary.
In order for the crown of a cherry seedling to form well, pinch its shoot at a height of about a meter from the ground. By the fall, thanks to this, lateral shoots with good divergence angles will create the basis for crown formation.
Formation of the cherry crown without pruning
Sweet cherry bears fruit only on horizontal shoots. Therefore, gardeners often simply bend the vertical shoots to the ground, keeping them in a horizontal position with the help of ropes, suspended weights, etc. This method can make a fruiting branch out of a top.
Pruning cherries to increase yields
The easiest way to increase the yield of young cherries is to curb the growth of annual growth, which can reach 1.2 m per year. Such shoots are pinched at a height of 60–80 cm. This will lead to the growth of shorter lateral shoots, on which fruits will appear.
Pruning cherries in summer after fruiting
After harvesting, the second part of the summer pruning of cherries is carried out. At this time, green non-lignified shoots are removed, growing incorrectly, thickening the crown, as well as green tops. Vertical shoots of the current year are shortened by a third.
Several methods of forming a cherry crown
The most common options for the formation of the cherry crown have already been listed earlier. These methods include crown formation according to the KGB method, which is now rapidly becoming fashionable among gardeners.
Forming cherry KGB
The abbreviation KGB has nothing to do with the Soviet secret service. The abbreviation stands for Kym Green Bush, which translates to Kim Green's bush. This Australian gardener was the first to propose such a technique for the formation of a low-growing cherry orchard.
The formation of a cherry bush according to the Kim Green method has several advantages:
- All cherries are approximately the same size.
- The bushes are compact and easy to use.
- A plant does not have old branches.
- Constant rejuvenation of the bush.
- The presence of a large number of leaders reduces the likelihood of freezing in winter.
- The system is simple and straightforward.
The video below shows the formation of a cherry crown using the Kim Green method.
KGB cherry pruning: how to prune in the first year after planting
After planting, the seedling is cut at a height of 0.6 m from the ground. Several shoots will appear on it over the summer. The 4 most powerful of them are left, and after they grow to a length of 0.6 m, they are shortened to a length of 0.15–0.2 m.
Formation of two-year cherries according to the KGB system
By the end of next summer, shoots will grow on four stumps of last year. You need to leave 2 pieces on each of them, also cutting them to a length of 0.15–0.2 m. In total, there will be 8 stumps.
KGB pruning of three-year cherries
In the third year, 2 shoots are also left on each stump, bringing their total number to 16.If space permits, you can leave 20 shoots. By the end of summer, they are shortened so that the height of the tree is no more than 2–2.5 meters.
Formation of a sweet cherry bush in the 4th year
On 4 and in subsequent years, branches shading and growing deeper into the crown are cut out. The number of leaders is kept constant by removing 4 or 5 of the thickest shoots per year and growing new ones instead.
Formation of cherries according to the "Australian bush" type with the scheme
The advantages of forming a crown using this type is that the crown is initially laid undersized. This greatly facilitates plant maintenance and harvesting. In addition, the presence of several equally loaded trunks more evenly distributes the fruit load.
The video about the formation of cherries using the "Australian bush" method is below.
How to form cherries in the first year of planting
After planting, the cherry seedling is shortened to 0.5 m. After the lateral shoots growing from the hemp reach a length of 5–6 cm, 4 of them are left, extending from each other approximately at right angles. Above them, ordinary clothespins are attached to the trunk, which direct the growth of the shoots almost horizontally.
Cherry formation in the second year of planting
In the second year, they continue to form a bush in the form of a vase. To do this, in the spring, all growth buds are removed, which have a growth direction deep into the crown. Only gentle branches are left on the main shoots.
Cherry pruning scheme for the 3rd year
In the third year, the entire growth of the current year is shortened to 8-10 cm. This is done so that it does not shade the bouquet branches too much.
Formation of cherries according to the "Australian bush" scheme in subsequent years
In the following years, all annual shoots are pruned so that the tree does not go beyond the dimensions. Once every 5-6 years, pruning is carried out in order to rejuvenate the bush, removing 1/5 of the fruiting branches. Young shoots are grown at the site of the removed shoots.
Formation of cherries like the "Spanish bush"
Cherry molding of this type is used mainly in southern countries. This is due to the fact that when a tree with a low crown is formed, there is a high risk of losing the entire crop during recurrent frosts. Flower buds in tall trees practically do not freeze at this time.
A video on how you can form a sweet cherry like the "Spanish bush" below.
Cherry pruning "Spanish bush" with the scheme when planting
In spring, the planted seedlings are cut at a height of 35–70 cm. The height depends on the number of buds on the central conductor, as well as on the height at which it is desirable to obtain the main skeletal branches. Side shoots that appeared in the summer (usually 4 pieces) are placed on a guy line in order to obtain a large divergence angle. After the shoots grow up to 50-60 cm, they are shortened to a level 15 cm higher than the leader.
In the fall, two trellises are pulled near the bushes with plantings at ground level. They serve to fix second-order shoots. This allows the branches to be more evenly distributed and to form a more open crown.
Pruning two-year-old cherries according to the "Spanish bush" scheme
In the second year, when the shoots grow to a length of 50-60 cm, they are cut in half. By autumn, the sprouts of the third order will have a length of about half a meter, and they also need to be made half as small.
There is no need to shorten horizontal shoots.
Cherry crown formation in subsequent years
Fruiting of cherries formed according to this type occurs on annual young shoots. In order to prevent the harvest from falling, the fruiting branches are partially cut out (about a quarter of the total). Thus, there is a constant rejuvenation of the bush.
Sweet cherries formed according to this principle should have a height of no higher than 2.5 m. Therefore, branches that go beyond the dimensions of the crown, both in height and in width, are cut to the required size.
Cherry pruning scheme "Sparse-tiered"
For a long time, a sparse-tiered crown was considered optimal for the formation of a fruit tree.However, now more and more gardeners are starting to move away from this scheme. A tree formed in this way has a rather large height, which is inconvenient when working with it. However, the positive side is that with such a scheme, cherry flowers are more resistant to spring return frosts, which allows you to save at least part of the crop.
Pruning a cherry seedling after planting
In the first year, a planted tree is cut at a height of 30-60 cm from the ground (the further south, the lower), leaving 4-6 buds on the trunk. Until next year, the seedling will give powerful shoots from the buds.
Pruning two-year-old cherries
In the spring and summer of the second year, the first tier of the tree is formed. To do this, you need to do the following:
- Choose 3-4 of the strongest shoots, taking them as the basis of the lower tier.
- The shoot extending from the trunk below all should be cut at a distance of 50–60 cm from the point of attachment to the trunk.
- Cut off all other shoots at the same level from the ground as the very first one.
- Cut off the central conductor by measuring its height 60–70 cm from the uppermost branch and retreating 4 more buds.
How to prune three year old cherries
In the spring and summer of the third year, the formation of the first layer of sweet cherry continues and the second is laid. This is done like this:
- The weakest branch of the lower tier is determined. It is not cut off.
- The growth of the remaining branches of the first tier should be cut approximately at the same level as this branch.
- Cut branches growing at an acute angle to the main trunk (competing shoots), as well as branches growing into the crown.
After that, they begin to form the second tier. To do this, do the following:
- Two strong branches are chosen, directed outward in different directions and extending from the central conductor by 30 cm or more. The rest are cut out.
- If necessary, the shoots are shortened at a level of 10–15 cm below the elongation shoot of the first tier.
- The central conductor is cut at a level of 50-60 cm above the level of the attachment point of the branches of the second tier plus 4 more buds above.
Cherry formation in the 4th year
In the fourth year, the formation of a sparse-tiered crown is practically completed. At this time, the growth of the tree is limited, the central conductor is cut above the weakest side branch. The branch itself is cut to a length of 0.5 m. The branches of the third tier are shortened, their length should be about 20 cm less than the length of the central conductor.
If the shoots of the elongation of the skeletal branches of the first and second tiers grow by more than 0.7–0.8 m, then they are also shortened. Shoots directed inside the crown, as well as tops, are completely removed. Shoots growing in the right direction are trimmed to a length of 0.7 m.
Tips for beginner gardeners
For gardeners who first decided to tackle the pruner, it will be useful to study the theoretical part of the issue. The first pruning is best done with or under the guidance of a mentor. It must be remembered that improper pruning can simply kill the tree.
What tools are needed for pruning cherries
High-quality garden tools are the key to the health of the tree. When pruning, you need to remember that any damage, and even more so a saw cut or cut, is an open wound through which an infection or fungus can get. The tool must be sharp to minimize the likelihood of unnecessary damage.
To carry out pruning in spring and summer, the gardener usually needs:
- Gardening scissors to remove green shoots.
- Pruner.
- Lopper.
- Garden saw.
- Garden knife.
- Stepladder (for high sections of the crown).
Before the trimming procedure, all instruments must be disinfected with a solution of copper sulfate.
How to prune branches correctly
The branches should be pruned so as to inflict as few wounds on the tree as possible. For example, when removing a branch coming from the trunk, you need to try not to touch the pocket from the bark at the bottom of the branch attachment, as well as the scar from the bark, which is on top. Such a saw cut will drag on very quickly.If you make a saw cut close to the trunk, the wound will be very large, if you retreat far, you will get a large knot.
It is better to first file large branches from below, otherwise they, breaking from their own weight during filing, can tear off a piece of living bark. On the branches, the cut must be made from the bottom. When using pruning shears, cut slightly obliquely, just above the kidney.
What weather is cherry pruning carried out
Pruning is not carried out at negative temperatures, since the wood at this time is rather fragile. It is also undesirable to prune in damp cold weather, as this promotes gum flow.
Processing slices after trimming
Cuts and cuts remaining after the pruning procedure must be disinfected with a solution of copper sulfate and covered with garden varnish. This is especially true for large sections. Increased attention should be paid to treating wounds if pruning was carried out for sanitary purposes, for example, wood affected by fungus was removed.
The cuts can also be treated with ordinary natural-based oil paint. It is better to use natural garden pitch, based on fir resin, and not oil products.
Conclusion
Cherry pruning in spring and summer helps the tree stay healthy for a long time and delight the gardener with an excellent harvest. There are quite a few nuances of this procedure, however, there is enough information on this topic to master all the intricacies of pruning.
