I planted a couple new trees this year and I not sure what pruning should be done. Should I just let them grow as they are to get the maximum amount of development or start removing branches?
Harrow diamond peach
Victoria peach planted last year
Suncrisp Apple
Honeycrisp Apple planted last year
The photos are from a few weeks ago. Any thoughts? Let 'em grow, or start hacking?
It so much depends on your ultimate plans for each tree, but I notice that most of your trees seem to have growth concentrated on one side, as if they’re not getting even sun
That Harrow peach has one branch as big as the trunk, it’ll probably overtake it - that one should go
Thanks!
I want to keep them small so I don’t need a ladder. I want to keep them with a open center.
They are in pretty much full sun and I oriented the dominant side towards the south (for some reason!)
I wondering if it’s better to let them just grow for. A year, or should I start shaping them now?
I think I’d start shaping those now
Some of those branches look injured, they might have to go
Start pulling those apple branches down - you want them more horizontal for fruit growth.
I have 4 trees in my back yard that branch starting at 24". Now that they are 5-7 years old it is hard to mow under them. I added one of these last year (a peach) and am trying to better manage it. I plan to ultimately have open center with three limbs. But have probably twice that now. Putting off the final decision as I watch them develop. Although pretty sure I have two of them picked. On yours, go ahead and get rid of some you know you don’t want… too close, too low etc. But don’t take more then 1/3 of leaves. (a rule of thumb I have with no science behind it) when dormant I would take more then that though. fresh growth is easy to steer by trying up or down. I have one branch steering horizontally with a stake in the ground. I also use solid core elect wire. tie it to main trunk, bend it and then tie to new branch. I tie to the trunk with grafting rubber bands, and tie to the new branch with parafilm in lots of layers. I have first tinkered with the branch to know where I want to attach to it and at what angle. As a side note, last year I grafted 2 other varieties to branches in the desired area. So my final 3 will be of different varieties and harvest times
I am in a similar situation with trees that have been in the ground for 16 months, and some 2-3 months but that are very vigorous. I am so new at orcharding and I’ve been wondering about pruning now or waiting. Some of the trees that I got in Feb '15 should have been cut off (at about 2 ft.) when I got them and now are in 2nd leaf and flourishing but have all their branches above four feet. I’m wondering if I should wait 'til Winter and lop them off low…yikes!..like starting over.
Seedy, try doing a horizontal cut in the trunk of those with 4’ lowest branches. I have never done this, so am only going on what I have read. But a cut less then 25% of the circumference where you want a branch. the cut will heal up but also prompts a new branch below the cut. I don’t know if doing 3-4 of these at the same time is OK this time of year. my guess is yes, but no experience… You should have 4-6 inches of vertical difference from branch to branch.
Others on this forum have done this so will hopefully chime in
Thanks for all the advice folks! I posted this message and disappeared but I’m back and will start working on these suckers.
