PRUNING 



PRUNING 



1443 



neglected, pruning may be the means of reinvigorating 

 them and setting them into a thriftier condition. In 

 such cases it is one of the means of renovating the 

 tree, as tilling, fertilizing and spraying are. 



(3) Heavy pruning of the top tends to produce wood. 

 This is because the same amount of root energy is con- 

 centrated into a smaller 



amount of top, thereby caus- 

 ing a heavier growth. This 

 is particularly true if the 

 pruning is done when the 

 plant is dormant. 



(4) Heavy pruning of the 

 root tends to lessen the pro- 

 duction of wood, because the 

 same amount of top receives 

 a less supply of soil water 

 with its content of plant- 

 food. 



(5) Trees which grow 

 much to wood are likely to be 



relatively unproductive. It is an old maxim that check- 

 ing growth induces fruitfulness, so long as the plant 

 remains healthy. If the tree is thrown into redundant 

 growth every two or three years by very heavy pruning, 

 it tends to continue to produce wood at the expense of 

 fruit. When a tree is to be brought into bearing condi- 

 tion by general good treatment, the aim should be to 

 keep it in that condition by a relatively light annual 

 pruning. Violent pruning is allowable only when trees 

 have been neglected and it is necessary to bring them 

 back into bearing condition or to renew their tops. 



(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 manner as to thin the fruit even without the 

 removal of much wood, and thereby to reduce the strug- 

 gle for existence to a minimum. Every species of tree 

 has its own method of fruit-bearing. The pear bears 

 its fruit largely on old spurs. The peach bears on the 

 wood of the last season's growth. In order to thin the 

 fruit of the pear by pruning, therefore, it is necessary 

 to remove part of the spurs. In the peach it is neces- 

 sary to cut out or to cut back a part of the previous 

 year's growth. Each species of plant is a law unto it- 

 self in these regards. 



(7) Heading-in tends to promote fruitfulness, par- 

 ticularly in those trees that are growing over-rapidly. 

 If the heading-in is very severe, however, it may 

 amount to a heavy pruning, and in that case it may 



never headed-in, provided they are otherwise well 

 pruned and well cared for. Whether one shall head-in 

 his fruit trees or not, is a personal question. If the 

 trees are growing too rapidly, it is well to head them in 

 in order to check their ambition. This is particularly 

 necessary when trees are growing on heavy or very 



1968. 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. 



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

 bearing. It is not to be supposed, however, that head- 

 ing-in is necessarily to be advised in order to make 

 trees bear. They may bear just as well if they are 



1969. Cordon training. 



An apple tree (grafted on dwarf stock) trained in two branches on a horizontal wire running 

 only two feet above the ground. Each year the growths are cut back to spurs. 



fertile soil and tend to overgrow. In such case, cut- 

 ting off the strongest leaders and leaving the weaker 

 ones may induce 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 people like a low-headed and rounded 

 top; this is a question of personal ideals. If the or- 

 chardist 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 necessary. 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, al- 

 though these buds may not be developed the very year 

 in which the pinching-in is done. This is a special prac- 

 tice, however, which can be employed only on small 

 areas and with particular trees. It is essentially a 

 garden practice and not an orchard practice. In the 

 orchard, one must depend for fruitfulness upon the 

 general good care of the plantation, and in this care 

 pruning is one of the essential factors. 



(9) Pruning fruit trees usually resolves itself into a 

 thorough and systematic thinning out of the weak, im- 

 perfect and interfering 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 admitted. The tree becomes manageable 

 for spraying and for picking. All the fruits have an 

 opportunity to develop. How much or how little to thin 

 is wholly a local 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. 1967 and 1968 illustrate 

 two pruning ideals. Consult, also, the pictures in the 

 various fruit articles in this work. 



(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 asso- 

 ciated with pruning practices. 



Pruning Ornamental Plants. Ornamental trees and 

 shrubs are pruned for three purposes: (1) to enable 

 them to produce greater quantity of bloom; (2) to make 

 them take some desired form; (3) to remove unusual or 

 straggling growths. 



The pruning of ornamental trees and shrubs 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 



