Page 28 - Simply Vegetables Winter 2022/23

Winter pruning
fruit trees
GERRY EDWARDS FNVS
When winter approaches I am regularly asked whether fruit trees should be pruned during the dormant season so
I thought it might be worth writing a few words about this subject. Before I go any further, the first thing to note is that the only fruit trees that should be pruned in the winter months are apples and pears. Stone fruits - almonds, apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches, and plums, must never be pruned in the dormant season (October to March) to prevent possible ingress of the diseases bacterial canker and silverleaf. I would slightly qualify that by saying that if
you discover any damaged branches in stone fruit trees - caused, for example, by bird or wind damage, it is better to trim off the branch to remove any jagged edges and torn bark than leave the damage unattended. In the case of larger breakages and resulting large cuts I suggest that you might smear the cut end with Vaseline or something similar to help seal the wound.
Winter pruning is used in three situations - a) where apple and pear trees are grown as free-standing bush trees or standard trees and are established several years after planting b) for trees which have become large, well established and possibly overgrown c) to go through of all
trees that were summer pruned to ensure nothing got missed - which it often does! Generally speaking, the majority of winter pruning will take place during the January to March period which is why I seem to spend much of my time away from home during this time of year!
Starting first with a) it should be noted that whilst traditionally spur and tip bearing trees are pruned in different ways during the initial growing period this can largely be ignored once a tree has been established - and that is a sigh of relief for many people! - as current pruning methods are very similar in not undertaking a cutting back of all growth. The first thing to do is to cleanly remove all dead, diseased, and damaged wood, then remove any very weak branches and eliminate crossing branches rubbing together by cleanly removing
the branch that is of
least benefit to the
tree. After this initial
work shorten all of the
previous year’s growth
to a bud; this will
help encourage new
branches and spurs.
Leave all side shoots
i.e., laterals unpruned
as you want them to
produce fruit buds in
the following summer. However, you may need to judiciously remove some of these laterals if they are crossing or there are too many of them. On trees that have been growing for several years you may find some spur systems have become very
congested and if this is the case remove those from the underneath of branches.
In the case of tip bearing trees cut back a proportion of the older fruited branches to a young, strong shoot and this will help keep the tree under control without those ever- extending branches that are often seen.
If you have a tree of this type that has not been pruned for a few years and has become congested and a little out of control, do not worry! Firstly, open out
the centre of the tree by removing larger branches back to where they emanate and secondly reduce the height and spread of any branches that have grown too long or big by pruning them back to a fairly vigorous outward and upward facing branch. In future years follow the usual winter pruning regime as I noted above.
Established trees as in b) are more interesting challenges! I am referring here to the big, old garden trees that were probably planted some 50 plus years ago and quite possibly not on anything but
Leave all side shoots i.e., laterals unpruned as you want them to produce fruit buds in the following summer
28 Simply Vegetables
Pruned step over apples