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Pruning old fruit trees

lulabelle's picture

Pruning old fruit trees (post #12702)

lulabelle on Sat, 06/30/2007 - 15:45
in

Good morning -
I love the old fruit trees in my back yard, but I'd like to get a little more light back there in the summertime. Will it hurt them in any way to "limb them up" pretty significantly? I'd like to have several of the lowest branches removed on each tree. I have apple, pear, plum, and cherry trees.

Thanks!
Lulabelle in Fort Bragg, CA

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the country gardener's picture

(post #12702, reply #1 of 2)

by the country gardener in reply to lulabelle [original] on Sat, 06/30/2007 - 21:18

You can prune all the varieties mentioned, but not right now.  Wait until the dormant pruning season (Jan-Feb in Fort Bragg) to remove major limbs and avoid taking more than one-third of any tree's top growth.


Marty


"The plants have been good to us."  Lester Hawkins


Edited 6/30/2007 5:18 pm by the country gardener

Marty

"The plants have been good to us."  Lester Hawkins

jimcco's picture

(post #12702, reply #2 of 2)

by jimcco in reply to lulabelle [original] on Mon, 07/02/2007 - 20:27

I am assuming you want the trees to continue to produce useable fruit.


As I have told others here, if you can't lay on your back under the fruit tree and see the sun up thru the branches there is not enough sunlight penatration to grow a crop thru-out the canopy.


First is the core of the tree is loaded with water sprouts (long streight shoots growing upright thru the hart of the tree)? If so tear them out by hand now. Use a sharp jerking downward pull. Doing this reather than cutting helps to keep them from re growing


During dormant period, Cut out entire limb scafolds all the way back to the trunk. Leave remaining limbs uniformly spaced around the trunk and 30 or so inches vertically. Don't remove more than 1/3 of limbs each year. But do remove them thruout the canopy Take off whole lower branches if necessary for working under the tree but if you are doing it just because the lower ones aren't fruitful then concentrate on light penatration thru the whole canopy.


Jim