Fruit trees

[Toddppm]

How many people trim fruit trees on a regular basis? Did an apple tree today for the second time, trimmed this tree a couple years ago too. Still not sure if I'm doing it right , only trim fruit trees rarely. I know it's a production tree but seems to go against everything you learn. I took about 4 ft. off the top and removed some bigger branches back to main limbs, hardly touched the sides except to cut that big shiner back in the picture. Look right?http://community.webshots.com/photo/53152242/53152328MvZiOJ

 

[Reed]

Ah Todd, pruning for production is different.

You're in Virginia? What my cousin's in Iowa did (orchardmen) was defer pruning until pre-bud break in early early Spring. Then what was maximized was "skirting": low and thin tops, max radius on sides keeping in mind limb strength with fruit development, but max sunlight penetration into the middle of the tree all interior suckering removed. Apples have been trellessed successfully just like grape vines. That stub end will bleed, is there a way to bring it back a bit to the next large lateral? Overhead of that stub limb, you should reduce more.

There are orchards nearby, go grab a six pack and your woman on Sunday afternoon and cruise by some. Look especially at some of the Jonathan or Delicious variety prunes. If that tree sits alone with none nearby, they could benefit from some manual pollenizing come April, I trust honeybees no longer as they are disappearing rapidly.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Not this spring but last spring, we were hired to remove a row of crabs. They were in full bloom and I thought it would be a bad job because of the bees. Not one bee on any of 6 mature crabs.
What's up with that?
This summer the bees and wasps seem to be back.

 

[geofore]

bees

You have not been watching the bee mites?? Two different types of mites wiped out about 80% of the honey bees here. Only saw a handful of bees this year. Yellow jackets and hornets are out there in large numbers.

 

[Reed]

Mites have devastated lots of colonies, in other places the quaranteen (because of Africanized bees) has effected many operators - they can't transport hives to the South in winter. Pesticide use has also decimated Idaho's bees - they have road signs with a bee on it telling you to slow down and the state provides dollar incentives for beekeepers to move there. It's a sad and great change from the ways things were but everything's changing everywhere. Like tree diseases.

 

[Toddppm]

Sounds like I did about right, I just about emptied the top center except for a few small sprouts. didn't even think about time of year, don't think they care if they get apples or not but I tried! It did have some very big Golden Delicous on it when I started , they were good. Couldn't do too much with that one big limb as it was getting too long and heavy and was the only thing on that side, when it fills in I'll cut it further back if she has me come to trim again in a couple years.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

One orchardman told me they are leaving short stubs now because you get better lateral sprouting of them then collar cuts. This allows them to train new scaffold limbs off the stubs.

 

[Stumper]

Oakwilt is right-production pruning is different, but there are various reasons for that. Not only do commercial growers want lots of apples but they want ease of harvest. I do a LOT of fruit trees-occassionally commercial orchards but primarily home orchards. "Standard" pruning will result in good production from eye pleasing trees. There is more emphasis on crown reduction (height esp but also tipping of lateral limbs to prevent breakage) but if you essentially prune as if you were dealing with a shade tree you will get pleasing results.

I understand that you are done and its 'over' for this pruning but I would have suggested taking that sub back further to the best lateral you could find. -I find it better to leave a hole to fill in rather than have a big stub filling the hole. Not only looks better but that stub will often sprout madly and throw things back out of balance.

 

[M.D. Vaden]

APPLE TREES

Done a lot of apple, but not for orchards.

Typically, the best form is pyramidal. Ideally, a single trunk, with limbs coming out at near 90 degree angles to the side, spaced evenly in each direction.

The lower limbs would be longer, with limb length decreasing at upper limbs.

In Oregon, so many apple trees are neglected. They get left alone for 3 years, get thick, get fried by disease from poor air circulation, then have to be limbed up.

And so the elevated umbrella shape takes place. Every few years of neglect brings the umbrella higher, and higher.

Don't know how your tree started, but the picture looks reasonable.

I only remove about 2/3 of the biggest tips anymore to save the auxin production in the apical points to a small degree. It keeps sprouting minimized a bit more the next year.

Our personal trees are lightly thinned once a month in the growing season.

People think that apple should be pruned once. Ideally one main time in fall or winter, and several light prunings in summer - very light prunings. It also makes the winter pruning more pleasureable.

For hire, that's very hard to do unless you have a maintenance account and it really matters to the homeowner.

My ex-boss from 1985; University of Portland Grounds Superintendent - ex-nurseryman with 20 years exp. & masters in plant pathology - said never remove all the water sprouts. Pick some you want for fruit spurs if they come up in a good void. Lowell (his first name) was right. It always worked.

Cut the sprout to about 1" ( hey, its going to sprout anyway if you cut it all the way off).

Next year, again remove all totally unwanted sprouts, but that saved 1" one ( & several others like it), cut if about one node higher at about 1 & 1/4" or 1 & 1/2 " high.

Do this for about 3 years and the sprout won't sprout as much. It will take on that white fuzzy bark look and start to produce flowers.

These eventually can become branches in a decade or two. And then overly large limbs can be removed as these spurs become twigs with spurs that become limbs with twigs with spurs.

The big homeowner mistake is always trying to save everything on the tree, instead of starting new replacements to replenish the old.

The key is to always maintain the same amount of tree at the same height and width decade after decade.

Mario Vaden
Landscape Designer / Arborist

M. D. Vaden Trees & Landscapes
Beaverton, Oregon

[email protected]

 

[don]

Out here in California

We top the trees around 12 to 15 feet for liability reasons.
It depends on the height of the ladders used by the harvesters (people) and the type of tree.

The only tree we leave alone are a HAAS avocados. When you trim it they go into shock (hopefully for just) a season or two.

Don't know the name of the machine but it has 4 large round saw blades turning in a circular motion perpendiclular to the ground.
While it rotates they have a "rake" between each blade to catch any thrown branch and to rake off the cut limbs.
The diameter is around 8 feet

Charges us $150 an hour. just goes down each row and tops off the trees. Has an attachment that rakes the limbs off the ground grinds it in sprays the chips on the ground.

 

[Toddppm]

Must be the same kind of machine that trims the orange trees in Fla. , some of those groves look like a formal garden they're so straight! Haven't seen one in action though.