THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



65 



FORMING THE HEAD 



Let us begin with a tree set last spring. It 

 was cut back severely when planted, to 

 equalize the loss of roots from transplanting. 

 Now this tree, with one season's growth, has 

 seven to twelve lusty branches started. Se- 

 lect four or five of the strongest to form the 

 framework of the tree. They are the scaffold 

 limbs. No two of these should be nearly 



78. This man went out and "trimmed up" his 

 trees after neglecting them for years. The top is in 

 good condition, but he should not have removed so 

 many of the lower branches 



79. This apple tree was pruned too heavily last 

 year. Result — a forest of water sprouts. It will taKe two 

 or three years for it to settle down into bearing again 



opposite each other, as this makes a bad 

 crotch which will be likely to split under stress 

 of winds or a heavy crop of fruit or ice. Be 

 very careful about this "forming the head." 

 Head back the framework limbs one-third to 

 one-half and cut out all others close. Head 

 back the branches to make the tree stocky. 



THE SECOND, THIRD AND AFTER YEARS 



At the end of the second season's growth 

 it will be found that two or three shoots have 



arisen from near the end of each of the 

 scaffold limbs. Save one or two of the best 

 of these, avoiding crotches; head them back 

 and cut out the rest. 



After the second or third year it is usually 

 best, in my judgment, to cease heading-in, 

 except as a special treatment for shoots grow- 

 ing out of bounds. Thereafter the tree 

 should be allowed to take its natural form, 

 except when it becomes straggling, or lop- 

 sided; and the pruning should consist of 

 thinning out entirely, not of heading-in. In 

 some sections peaches and apricots are often, 

 and plums sometimes, headed back annually 

 to advantage. Annual heading-in keeps the 

 peach, which is naturally a straggling grower, 

 in more compact shape; and it also thins 

 the fruit, which is borne only on the 

 new wood. Weak, unthrifty trees may 

 often be rejuvenated by a severe heading- 

 back. With these possible exceptions, I 

 believe that heading-in should usually 

 cease after the trees are three to four 

 years set. 



THE PRUNING OF BEARING TREES 



How should bearing trees be pruned? 

 First cut out all dead limbs. They are a 

 menace to the living parts as long as they 

 remain on the tree, breeding rots and often 

 parasitic diseases. Never allow dead 

 branches or stubs to stay on a fruit-tree at 

 any time. Second, where branches crowd, 

 cross and interlace, making in summer a 

 dense mass of foliage which the sun cannot 

 penetrate, do a little thinning. Large, highly 

 colored and fine-flavored fruit cannot be 

 produced in a tangle of branches and beneath 

 a curtain of leaves. This is just where 

 the fruit is covered with fungus, also; the 

 germs which cause it cannot grow without 

 moisture, and if the sun has a chance to dry 

 off the foliage and fruit there is sure to be 

 less scabby and rotten fruit. Thin out, but 

 be careful! The most desirable quality in a 

 man who prunes is conservatism. Think 

 twice before taking off any limb. See if you 

 cannot save it by taking off another smaller 

 limb which interferes with it. If a tree is 

 pruned carefully from the time it is set there 

 should be no necessity for cutting off very 

 large limbs when it is old. A careful man 

 goes over his trees, young and old, several 

 times during the growing months, rubbing 

 off and checking shoots which he sees will 

 make trouble later. Husband the energies 

 of your trees by preventing, instead of cur- 

 ing, overcrowding in the top. 



In regions where there is liability of 

 serious injury to fruit trees from sun- 

 scalding. the tops are not thinned as 

 much as in more humid sections. It is 

 necessary to keep the fruit trees of the 

 western plains, as Nebraska and of Cali- 

 fornia, much thicker topped than the trees of 

 the Atlantic States. 



WHEN TREES ARE PLANTED TOO CLOSELY 



The all-too-common mistake of " trimming- 

 up" fruit trees usually arises from the fact 

 that they were planted too closely. Some 

 home orchards look as though they were 

 planted for timber instead of fruit. It is bad 



enough to have the trees cramped at the 

 roots and jostled at the top, resulting in a 

 poor yield and a poorer quality; but when 

 the tops begin to crowd many people augment 

 the difficulty by trimming off the lower 

 branches. Just why they do this I could 

 never understand. The result can be seen 



W'l/ ] 



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80. The pruner has taken off no more limbs than 

 needed to be removed, but he should have removed 

 some this year and more next. A third of the tree 

 on the ground 



81. Nearly ruined. More than half the limbs on 

 the ground. For two or three years now it will 

 produce a big crop of sucKers. Prune annually and 

 moderately, not biennially and heavily 



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82. A brush pile in the air! The lower limbs 

 interfere with cultivation, and bear inferior fruit 

 because there is more moisture and less sunshine 

 there. Thin the top gradually; take off the lower 

 limbs, but not all at once 



