Content
In order for young apple trees to bear fruit well, it is necessary to properly care for them. The measures taken should help to strengthen the immunity of fruit trees. If the apple tree has enough nutrition, then the plant will have a healthy trunk and roots. In addition to nutrition and watering, pruning of young apple trees in the fall is also needed.
Thanks to this procedure, the plant becomes frost-resistant, and in the spring it quickly starts to grow. But young apple trees are pruned in autumn in a completely different way from adults, since even the purpose of the work is different. The rules for carrying out work in the garden in the fall will be discussed in the article. In addition to pictures, your attention will be presented with video material, which is given to help novice gardeners.
Why do you need pruning
Novice gardeners are afraid of the onset of autumn, because they have to prepare young apple trees for wintering. In addition to feeding, you will also have to cut the branches. As we have already noted, pruning in the fall serves different purposes. One of them is to increase the yield of young apple trees in the future.
It's all about the internal biology of the plant. It is so arranged that the apple tree always reaches for the sun, and with maximum shading, the yield decreases. Once on the site, a young apple tree begins to settle down, therefore, it creates the conditions necessary for growth:
- the crown is as dense as possible;
- the trunk and most of the branches remain in the shade.
If you do not pay attention to the formation of the crown, then, as a result, many extra shoots and branches will appear on the apple tree, which will pull nutrients for their development, and fruiting will recede into the background. Fruiting itself is stressful for fruit plants. The apple tree "thinks" that its time is running out, and therefore gives off the harvest.
Novice gardeners should take into account that pruning a young apple tree in the fall is the same stress that stimulates the tree to lay flower buds and yield the next summer.
Pruning tools
Pruning a young apple tree in the fall is a serious operation. Novice gardeners should understand that they should carefully prepare for it: choose the necessary tools and clothes:
- ladder or stepladder;
- glasses, gloves;
- garden pitch;
- pruning shears or sharp scissors.
If you have to work with apple trees for 4-5 years (they are still considered young), then it is better to cut the branches with a hacksaw.
Novice gardeners need to know that the tools for pruning apple trees in the fall must be sterile, since infection through the cut not only increases the healing time of the wound, but can also cause the death of young fruit trees after pruning.
When to prune apple trees
When to cut a young apple tree - in spring or autumn, the gardener himself decides, because there are no uniform criteria in this matter. In some cases, even in the summer it is necessary to carry out a similar operation. Although it is the autumn pruning of apple trees that is considered the most successful.
How to prune young apple trees in the fall video for beginners:
It is also necessary to determine the timing of the work.Pruning early can damage the tree a lot, while late pruning will not work.
Therefore, the question of when to prune young apple trees is very important not only for novice gardeners, but also for those who have extensive experience. As a rule, work on the preparation of fruit trees begins after the yellowed leaves fall off. At this time, the state of rest begins in the apple tree, sap flow stops. Consequently, the slices will tighten faster, the infection will not have time to penetrate them. And the air temperature at this time is already low, which also reduces the risk of infection.
Experienced gardeners begin the procedure at the end of October and finish at the beginning of November. The main thing is that the cut branches do not freeze.
General rules for pruning apple trees in the fall
Cuts and cuts should be even, so we choose sharp tools so that the bark and tissue of the apple tree along the edge of the saw cut does not bulge or flake off. This can lead to festering, in which case the wound does not heal for a long time.
Stages of pruning apple trees
- Apple trees are considered young up to five years of age. It is during this period that it is necessary to form the crown for the correct development of the tree and successful fruiting. Before pruning a young apple tree, it is necessary to conduct an audit.
If you notice broken twigs or cracks in the bark of young trees, then you need to start with sanitizing. The bark is carefully protected with a spatula, and the branches are cut or cut with a pruner. - After that, they begin to form the crown. It is performed in different ways: either they thin out or shorten the branches. Each of the methods pursues its own goals, based on the age of the apple tree. The scheme for pruning apples of different ages in the fall is shown in the picture.
- By thinning the crown of fruit trees, you can achieve uniform sun exposure to all parts of the plants, improve air circulation. In addition, the load on the root system is reduced, therefore, the plant will work for laying fruit buds for the future harvest.
With any pruning method, you must remove last year's shoots. All other actions will depend on the age of the apple tree.
Cut off one-year-olds
After planting a one-year-old seedling, you must immediately start pruning. The top is removed first. It should be borne in mind that the lower part must be at least one meter. Such pruning stimulates the formation of lateral shoots - the basis of the future crown.
Why is it necessary to prune a young apple tree in the fall, novice gardeners are often interested in. The fact is that no matter how carefully the tree is planted in a new place, the root system is still damaged and cannot cope with the load coming from the upper part of the plant. Such an operation will make the apple tree stronger, strengthen the roots, and create a reliable base for further growth and fruiting.
Pruning apple trees in autumn forms a strong trunk and a small crown, which means that strong winds cannot damage it. And the harvest from low cultivated varieties will be easier to harvest.
Correct pruning of one-year-olds, video for novice gardeners:
Advice
If numerous lateral shoots have formed on the seedling over the summer, then they are cut off by about 40 cm, taking into account the length.
- Long shoots that have formed an acute angle with the trunk are removed altogether, because they are the first candidates for scrapping in strong winds. In addition, they will thicken the crown.
- Branches growing in relation to the trunk at an angle of 90 degrees are left, but cut to a height of 3-5 buds.
- Twigs growing inside the crown must be cut out.
- Branches and shoots affected by diseases are also subject to removal.
- In addition, it is necessary to blind part of the buds so that there is no rapid growth of branches.
Rules for pruning a two-year-old apple tree
On a two-year-old apple tree, several lateral shoots grow on the main trunk over the summer. If some of them are not cut out in the fall, then the crown will turn out thickened. It is enough to leave from 3 to 5 branches, which stand out for their strength and grow in relation to the main trunk at right angles. The rest do not need to be regretted, they are subject to mandatory removal in the fall.
At this age, apple trees continue to form a crown. It will largely depend on the angle of inclination of the pagon to the main trunk. Sometimes you have to forcibly tilt branches while pruning. In this case, a load is tied to the branches or they are tied to a peg, and the appropriate slope is set.
In a biennial apple tree, the main guide is also cut off in the fall. Its height is adjustable: by 4 or 5 buds, it must rise above other shoots. To form the correct crown, one should take into account the fact that the lower branches should be 30 centimeters longer than the upper ones. In a two-year-old apple tree, the crown should be round.
Often over the summer, lateral shoots grow on the main trunk of the apple tree. If they are located below 50 centimeters from the ground, then they must be removed.
Pruning apple trees in autumn in the coming years it will be similar. The only difference will be the thinning of the crown. All branches pointing inside the crown or up and down must be cut. In addition, young growth is subject to such a procedure already on the side branches. Otherwise, the crown will be very thickened, the branches will rub against each other, damaging the bark.
Gardeners' actions after pruning
It is clear that novice gardeners should not get too carried away by cutting off branches and shoots on an apple tree in the fall. The fact is that our winters are harsh, some of the shoots can freeze out. You should always leave a reserve for spring. Early in spring you can continue pruning... In addition, strong pruning is a provocateur of active growth of young shoots, which will thicken the crown again.
After the end of the pruning of the apple tree in the fall, it is necessary to clean the territory, and even small pieces of twigs must be collected. They are burned so that possible pathogens cannot damage the apple trees in the spring.
Pruning is followed by feeding young apple trees... Rotted manure can be used as fertilizer for apple trees. In addition to feeding, it will work as a "heater" for the roots. In addition to manure and compost, you can use mineral fertilizers. Before feeding, the apple trees are well shed.
It is clear that it is not enough for beginners to read recommendations or look at pictures or diagrams, they want to see everything with their own eyes. Therefore, we offer them a video instruction on pruning young apple trees in the fall:
Let's summarize
So, we talked briefly about how properly prune young apple trees in autumn... This procedure contributes to:
- the formation of a powerful root system and the correct development of the plant as a whole;
- the formation of the crown, therefore, in the future you can count on an excellent harvest of apples;
- the apple tree's resistance to the upcoming wintering, strong winds, and in the spring-summer period to various diseases;
- rejuvenating the fruit tree;
- access of light and heat to all parts of the plant, free air circulation.
In fact, pruning apple trees in the fall is not such a difficult operation. The main thing is to study the materials, watch the video, then novice gardeners can cope with the upcoming work.
