Is cutting back necessary or can I just remove the flowers? On couple of branches I have successful grafts.
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It is not necessary, just might be helpful but you can certainly leave the grafts alone. Also, my advice is not as reliable as it might be if I actually was able to see your trees and soil and knew the rootstocks.
A healthy shot of quick release nitrogen at first signs of growth might also be helpful.
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Another thing you can try is to tie the branches back up above horizontal- or at least try it on a few trees and compare. The downward bending branches may continue to focus on creating flowers next season even after you remove the fruit. I have no experience with your situation, so understand, I’m just offering ideas that you can match with what your are seeing.
I’ve often had to bring back apple trees that were allowed to become excessively spurred up with flower buds by removing spurs (short pieces of fruiting wood) instead of just fruit because the spurs pulled too much energy from trees even without fruit (making fruit buds for next year instead of vegetative wood). How this relates to your trees, I don’t know, but if the bent branches are runted out for the same reason, cutting back wood or lifting branches up may be helpful.
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There are many important things to learn when one starts growing fruit/trees. I’m still learning the art of when and how to bend limbs but I think it is one of the most important skills to learn. I’m getting better at bending but I’m still learning.
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Don’t forget that a lot of apples consider ANY amount of water shortage a sign that growing season is over. It can be difficult to get them going again once they stop. It was almost definitely coincidental with your branch bending.
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Why, was there serious drought where she was? Periods of drought don’t shut down apple growth here, it has to be bone dry for that to happen- like a rainless 45 days. Of course I’m not in Kansas any more (I get to make that joke because as a child I did live in Kansas for a stretch). I’m not even clear about when the bending was done.
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Sure, if it’s an established tree. Maybe almost definitely is strong, but it’s not a particularly bold claim to say that bending below horizontal redistributes vigor in the system more so than stops it altogether. If everything was fine she’d expect two or three weeks of redistribution of hormones and then growth along the bent length, starting with the highest nodes. If there’s no recovery at all, I would bet against the bending being the cause, and say that the slow down was imminent anyway. I could absolutely be wrong.
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Great information. Definitely worth doing. I am just afraid to run into them with my riding mower. How long do you really keep these branches bent over? Just before and during during blooming time?
Usually bending branches is a permanent training method, but the weight of the fruit does most of the training once trees begin producing fruit. Less vigorous upright annual shoots are used to keep fruiting wood young, which is an acquired skill as far as how many and exactly what size to leave while pruning.
You start with theories and then study results, and voila, 20 years later, you actually almost know what you are doing. Of course, some varieties are a lot easier to manage than others.
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I appreciate the extra information. I need to try this out on some newer trees I have. They are in their 5-6 greening and have some branches are more upright, thus no fruit or very little fruit. Time to experiment next year.
I agree.
Can anyone post any links for under cutting branches/scaffolds to help assist in bending a branch down to level. I haven’t found anything online.
I believe it has to do with the hormones. Branches bent down produce fruiting hormones, where as upright branches do not. Maybe I am wrong but I thought that was the reasoning. I have a book that explained that at one time.
I had a different interpretation of what you were referring to. I thought you were referring to “Kerf” cuts to bend branches. If so, here is an additional link: How to cut a hinge?
The lower they hang down the easier it is to grow big beautiful fruit that deer can more easily take and break you heart
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So is the consensus that bending branches by attaching twine to the trunk and tying out on the branch the easiest and best method for accomplishing branch angling? Right now I bend my branches by putting mason line far out on the limb and attaching it to ground staples. Makes the orchard look like a Trapeze circus and honestly makes mowing near impossible, so I’m looking for better methods. I have 40 plus apple/pear/Asian pear trees and it’s starting to get tiresome.
I cut a third the way through the branch on the side I’m bending it (you would break the branch if you did it on the side you are pulling away from. It takes at least 3 cuts to loosen it much, sometimes I use as many as 6- but only as needed.
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That’s interesting that you can cut 1/3 into the branch multiple times, and the branch heals and stays alive. I’d like to see a before and after pictures
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