PRUNING 



PRUNING 



2819 



neglected and it is necessary to bring them hack 

 into bearing condition by renewal or to re-shape 

 them. 



6. The operator should know where the fruit-buds 

 are borne before undertaking the pruning of any fruit- 

 tree; otherwise he may destroy too many of them. If 

 he knows the position of the fruit-buds, he may prune 



in such way as to thin 

 the fruit even without 

 the removal of much 

 wood, and thereby to 

 reduce the struggle for 

 existence to a mini- 

 mum. Every species 

 of tree has its own 

 method of fruit-bear- 

 ing. The pear bears 

 its fruit largely on old 

 spurs. The peach 

 bears mostly on the 

 long wood of the last 

 season's growth, partic- 

 ularly when trees are 

 young. If one is to 

 thin the fruit of the 

 pear by pruning, there- 

 fore, it is necessary to 

 remove part of the 

 spurs. In the peach it 

 is necessary to cut out 

 or to cut back a part 

 of the previous year's 

 growth. Each species 

 of plant is a law unto 

 itself in these regards. 

 7. Heading-in under 

 certain conditions 

 (which the operator 

 must judge by obser- 

 vation) tends to pro- 

 mote fruitfulness. If 

 the heading-in is very 

 severe it may amount 

 to a heavy pruning, 

 and in that case it may 



set the plant into shoot-bearing rather than into fruit- 

 bearing. It is not to be supposed that heading-in is 

 necessarily to be advised in order to make trees bear. 

 They may bear just as well if they are never headed-in, 

 provided they are otherwise well pruned and well 

 cared for. Whether one shall head-in the fruit-trees or 

 not, is in part a personal question. If the trees are 

 growing too rapidly, it is well to head them back. 

 This may be necessary when trees are growing on very 

 fertile soil in order to keep them within bounds; but 

 the heading-in under these conditions may not con- 

 duce to greater fruitfulness. When trees are planted 

 too close together, it may also be necessary in order to 

 prevent the plantation from becoming too thick. Some 

 growers like a low-headed and rounded top; this is a 

 question of personal preference and of the general 

 management of the plantation. If the orchardist 

 desires such form, it is necessary to head-in the tree. It 

 should be remembered that the 

 more a tree is headed-in the thicker 

 it tends to become in the crown 

 and the more inside pruning is neces- 

 sary. Whenever there is danger of 

 fruit-rot, as in plums and early 

 peaches, it is a question whether 

 the thick form of top is the most 

 advisable. 



8. Pinching-in the annual growths 

 in early summer tends to augment 

 the development of fruit-buds, 

 although these buds may not be 



3202. Young apple tree, the marks 

 showing which limbs may be re- 

 moved to advantage. 



3203. A New York cherry-grower's 

 ideal of a Montmorency cherry tree. 

 Perhaps the large branch on the front 

 side should have been removed when 

 the tree was young. 



developed the very year in which the pinching-in is 

 performed. This is a special practice, however, which 

 can be employed only on small areas and with partic- 

 ular trees. It is essentially a garden practice and not 

 an orchard practice. In the orchard, one must depend 

 for fruitfulness on the general good care of the planta- 

 tion, and in this care 

 pruning is one of the 

 essential factors. 



9. Pruning fruit- 

 trees usually resolves 

 itself into a thorough 

 and systematic thin- 

 ning out of the weak, 

 imperfect and inter- 

 fering branches. 

 Thereby, the energy 

 of the plant is saved 

 and is deflected to 

 those parts that are 

 capable of bearing a 

 useful product. The 

 sun and air are ad- 

 mitted. The tree be- 

 c om e s manageable 

 for spraying and for 

 picking. All the fruits 

 have an opportunity 

 to develop. How 

 much or how little 

 to thin, is a special 



question. In humid climates, much thinning may be 

 necessary. In dry hot climates, as on the Plains, but 

 little thinning is allowable, else the branches may sun- 

 scald. Figs. 3202 and 3203 illustrate two pruning 

 ideals. 



10. Scraping the rough bark from old trunks may be 

 a desirable practice, since it destroys the breeding 

 places of insects and fungi. Trees that have been con- 

 tinuously thrifty, however that have received uni- 

 formly good tillage, fertilizing, pruning, spraying 

 rarely need to be scraped, as the bark remains rela- 

 tively smooth and firm. Only the loose outer bark 

 should be removed. On ornamental trees, the bark is a 

 part of the characteristic beauty, and it should not be 

 scraped. Although not a pruning question, this is 

 closely associated with pruning practices. 



Pruning ornamental plants. 



Ornamental trees and shrubs are pruned for three 

 purposes: (1) to enable them to produce greater quan- 

 tity of bloom; (2) to make them take some desired 

 form; (3) to remove unusual or injured growths. 



The pruning of woody plants for the production of 

 flowers is controlled largely by the flower-bearing habit 

 of the plant. Most early-blooming plants develop 

 their flower-buds the year before. Heavy pruning, 

 therefore, particularly heading-in, when the plants are 

 dormant, cuts off the flower-buds and the amount of 

 bloom is lessened. If these plants are pruned just after 

 the flowers are passed in spring, the best results will be 

 secured, since the new growths will then develop flower- 

 buds for the year following. Among spring-flowering 



3204. Cordon training. An apple tree (grafted on dwarf stock) trained in two branches 

 on a horizontal wire running only 2 feet above the ground. Each year the growths 

 are cut back to spurs. 



