Winter pruning

Wisteria sinensis below) needs to be pruned in two stages. In summer, when the main growing season is over, the new shoots are pruned back by about half. In winter these shoots are then further shortened to two buds. This may seem elaborate, but will give much joy when the heavily scented trusses of delicate lilac flowers appear the following spring. 

If you are concerned about the hardiness of the plant, leave the branches on to protect it over winter, then prune in early spring. 

Like all fruit trees, apples need to be pruned annually for best results. Once established, all tree forms benefit from winter pruning. Trained forms—cordons, espaliers, and fans—need extra pruning in summer to keep their shape. Pruning aims to achieve a number of objectives ... 

Apple problems Aphids like to colonize tender shoot tips if they go unnoticed, it may become neoessary to prune out badly infested and distorted growth near right). A proteotive band far right) used to prevent wingless female winter moths from olimbing trees to lay their eggs, may also help with aphid problems—by keeping ants, which farm aphids, out of the tree. 

From the fourth year onward, pears are pruned as for apples (see pp.297-298) all benefit from routine pruning in winter, and wall-trained trees need additional pruning in summer. Spur-pruning will enhance cropping. 

Black knot is a common disease of plum trees. This fungal infection produces swollen, knobby black galls on branches. Prune out affected branches during the winter, then spray lime-sulfur as buds swell in spring and again... 

Currant events Apart from the harvest, the key time in the black currant year is late fall to winter, when established bushes should be pruned, as below, by sawing out a proportion of thick old branches at the base to leave well-spaced younger wood that will crop well in coming years. 

Once the bush is formed, each winter prune back the leading shoot by one half, and shorten all sideshoots to two or three buds. As the bushes age and clusters of stubby branches get old and crowded, cut some away. 

Winter pruning Gooseberries are "spur-pruned" as red ourrants are sideshoots are out baok to form short fruiting spurs. 

Follow the mulching and fertilizing advice for red currants (seep317). Prune gooseberries as for red currants, too, but in winter, leave the spurs longer prune them to three or four buds rather than two, to allow more fruits to grow. 

What to do Look for resistant cultivars. In fall or late winter, prune off infected limbs, 6-12 in. (15-30 cm) below the knots disinfect pruners in between cuts with a 10% bleach solution (1 part bleach to 9 parts water). Destroy the prunings. Remove any wild plum or cherry trees nearby. For persistent infections, apply 2 sprays of lime-sulfur, 7 days apart, before the buds begin to grow in spring. 

Deciduous fruit plants that lose their leaves each winter and become dormant include apple, pear, peach, prune, plum, cherry, apricot, fig, grape, bramble, and bush fruits. The deciduous nut crops include principally walnut, almond, pecan, pistachio, and hazelnut (filbert). Nearly 11 million tons (10 million metric tons) of fruit come from deciduous plants grown in 43 states in the United States. In 1998 in California alone, 8.9 million tons (8.1 metric tons) of fruits and nuts were harvested (Olds, 1998). Strawberry and pineapple, though not deciduous fruits, are included in this chapter because of triazine use on fruit crops. The major growing areas for the United States are shown in Table 17.1, and these same crops are grown in many countries throughout the world. 

Prune and plum have less crop tolerance to simazine at high rates than the other stone fruit (Chaney et al, 1966 Elmore et al, 1970 Almoida et al, 1987). In a field experiment in California where simazine was applied for 2 years on French prune, Marianna 2624 plum rootstock, or Imperial prune on Myrobalan 29C plum rootstock, there was some phytotoxicity observed, though weed control was excellent and trunk diameter increased in most instances over an untreated check (Elmore et al, 1970). Simazine has been used with good crop tolerance at low rates for winter weeds, particularly in some of California s heavier soils. In California approximately 800 pounds of simazine were applied to 900 A of plum in 2004. 

Many foods contain preservatives that prolong the shelf life and/or combat infestations by insects and microorganisms. Sulfur dioxide (S02) is probably one of the oldest preservatives. For centuries, people found that if the summer harvest of fruits is to be preserved and stored for the winter months, a drying process can accomplish the task. Raisins, dates, dried apricots, and prunes are still sun-dried in many countries. The drying process increases the sugar concentration in such dried fruits, and bacteria and most other microorganisms cannot use the dried fruit as a carbohydrate source because of the hypertonic (hyperosmotic) conditions. 

Slight vegetative growth (lots of possibilities for shoot production, so shoots are shorter) with early cessation of shoot growth, can already be seen after the first omission of winter pruning. 

After mid-August (cessation of shoot growth) the necessary corrections must he made to the trees, i.e. heavy pruning should now he carried out to compensate for the deliberate omission of pruning the previous winter. This sometimes means that whole branches and parts of... 

INSPECTION AND DAMAGE THRESHOLD. Since the San Jose scale is a pest subject to quarantine, zero tolerance is applicable, i.e. the damage threshold is exceeded whenever it is present. Inspection at harvesting is of the greatest importance, because the symptoms of damage are easiest to see on the fruit. However, checks should also be made during pruning in winter to see whether the tree is attacked by this pest, so that treatment can still be carried out at budburst if necessary. 

Most birches grow best in cool climates and almost invariably perform better in the northern portions of their range. Choose a site with light shade and moist but well-drained, acidic soil. Transplant in spring as balled-and-burlapped specimens. Don t prune in winter or early spring, when trees can bleed" sap late summer is a better time. 

Prune plants each winter, beginning when bushes are about 4 years old. On highbush and rabbiteye plants, remove drooping or very old branches and thin out branches where growth is too dense. Cut lowbush plants to the ground every third year for a harvest every 2 out of 3 years. 

Bittersweets flourish in sun or partial shade in virtually any soil. Be sure to obtain both male and female plants to ensure fruiting. Control the aggressive vines by pruning them back severely each winter. 

Mature sweet cherries need little or no annual pruning.. Sour cherries need enough pruning each winter to thin out branches and stimulate a moderate amount of growth. 

Plant currants in full sun or partial shade and apply a thick, organic mulch. To winter-prune red and white currants, cut all but 6 of the previous season s shoots to the ground. Remove all shoots more than 3 years old. To winter-prune black currants, cut 2-5 of the oldest branches to the ground and shorten tall, old branches to vigorous young sideshoots. Most currants are self-pollinating. 

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