80 



HOME FRUIT GROWER 



buds beyond the point where the previous dormant pruning was 

 done. This cutting, while it looks like butchery, is absolutely essential 

 to keep the trees within bounds. Should too many fruit spurs develop 

 as the trees grow older the inferior ones may be removed when the 

 dormant pruning is done. When managed as outlined the trees 

 should begin to bear the third Summer, sometimes the second after 

 planting. 



GENERAL RULES FOR 

 PRUNING AND TRAINING 



1. One year dwarf 

 trees are usually un- 

 branched " whips " or 

 "switches" two to three 

 feet tall, sometimes more, 

 sometimes less; two-year 

 trees are usually about 

 the same height but they 

 are more or less branched. 

 Some nurserymen furnish 

 one-year trees when they 

 run out of two-year plants. 

 Two-year trees are gen- 

 erally preferred to one- 

 year, but the latter have 

 the advantage that the 

 head may be started at 

 just the desired height, 

 whereas the former cannot 

 be changed without risk 

 of damage to the tree. 



2. If newly Fall 

 planted in the North, do 

 no pruning until late 

 Spring just before the 

 buds begin to swell. In 

 the South, where winters 



are short and mild, preliminary pruning may be done when the trees 

 are planted but there's no special advantage in so doing. 



3. Always have the pruning tool very sharp! A knife is better 

 than a shears for almost all the pruning to be done on all kinds of 

 dwarf trees. Only when a large branch is to be removed will the 

 saw or the two-hand shears be needed. The single hand shears if 



Fig. 63. Dwarf Champion Peach. Just coming 

 into bearing the second year after planting 



