30 SOUTHERN ORCHARD PLANTINGS 
Fig. A 
Fig. B 
Pruning Fruit Trees 
Wherever you find a successful orchardist, you will find a man who knows 
how to prune his trees. Many people lail fully to understand the necessity for 
pruning fruit trees. Fruit production cannot be expected when the trees spend 
all their strength and energy making 
branches and foliage instead of fruit. 
After a young tree is set out, the form 
it will take depends on the amount of 
pruning it receives. This point must be 
determined by judgment and experience. 
The head of the tree should be open, to 
allow the sun the better to ripen the fruit. 
This form should be started by forming the 
head of the young tree when it is planted 
(see figure). 
Pruning should also be done each year, 
when the trees are dormant. The best time is early spring, just as the sap is 
beginning to move upward. Wounds made at this time heal quickly. 
For fruit-tree pruning, the best tool is an ordinary saw with an extra-wide 
set, so it will not bind in the green wood. The teeth ought to be fine, but it is 
not dangerous to use a coarse-toothed saw. Some people use long-handled 
pruning shears. These implements are not so good, for they crush the limb 
before cutting it. Such wounds are slow to heal. 
A tree properly pruned has no unsightly stubs sticking out from either 
the trunk or the branches. These stubs are caused by 
not cutting closely enough, and very often do not heal 
cleanly. If the cut is made close to the trunk or branch, 
it will soon heal. After cutting, it is well to paint the 
wound. This keeps out the rain and prevents insects 
from getting at the wood. Always be careful with the 
pruning tool, .so as not to leave any torn or ragged cuts. 
Look at the diagrams on this page. They show the 
right and wrong ways to prune fruit trees. Figure A 
shows where to cut; if cut at 3, the result will be a long Figs. C 
stub and a wound slow in healing. It is better to cut at 
2, but it is still too far from the trunk. Cut I is in the right place. This leaves 
no stub, and the new growth will quickly cover the wound. 
Figure B shows how to remove a side branch. The arrow is pointing to a 
dotted Une; cut at this line. Figure C shows how the cut can harm a bud; this 
is too low and no fruit will grow at the bud. Figure D is too high. Figure E 
is cut just right; it is far enough from the bud to allow it to set fruit, but is not 
too far away. 
The method shown by Figure F is injuring many trees. The man who 
made this cut started close up to the trunk and sawed down through. Wlien 
the saw was nearly through, the weight of the branch pulled it downward, 
tearing the bark and trunk. This makes a wound that will be slow in healing, 
and may never heal entirely. Unhealed pruning wounds shorten the tree's life. 
Figure G shows how Figure F should have 
been done. The first cut was made on the 
under side and went about half way through 
the branch. The saw was then started close to 
the trunk on the upper side of the branch. 
When the saw is half through the limb will 
break off cleanly. Then complete the job by 
sawing off the other half of the limb stub. 
This will leave a clean wound that \vill heal 
Fig. F Fig. G over quickly. 
