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Pruning sour cherry tree


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SOIL PREPARATION & PLANTING

Choose a location in well drained soil that receives full sun. Space trees relative to eventual mature size. Dig the planting hole as deep as the existing roots, and at least twice as wide. Loosen the soil on the sides of the hole with a shovel or spade fork, especially if your soil is heavy clay. Prune out damaged or rotted roots. Form a cone of loose soil in the center of the hole and spread the roots over it. Position the plant’s height so that the crown (where the roots meet the trunk) is at or slightly below the finished soil surface, and rotate the plant to where you feel it looks best. Be sure the graft union is at least 1 inch above the soil surface. Fill the planting hole and cover the roots with native soil (dug from the hole) that has been amended with about 25% E.B. Stone® Planting Compost or Gardener & Bloome® Soil Building Conditioner.

WATERING & FERTILIZATION

Water the plants thoroughly at planting (even if it’s raining out!), and continue to water thoroughly for the next few years. You will know when it’s time to water again once the soil surface dries out slightly. As the seasons progress, you can let the soil dry out a little more between each watering.

Fertilize in April every year, using an All-Purpose fertilizer or a Fruit Tree fertilizer. Follow the instructions on the package for quantities recommended relative to the tree’s size.

THE GOAL OF PRUNING

TIME OF PRUNING

Cherries are best pruned in spring and late summer. Pruning should take place after the tree has started growing in the spring. Dormant pruning gives some diseases opportunities to infect the tree.

Pruning Method

Cherry trees are typically best trained and maintained using the open-center method. The idea is to create a tree that does not have a central leader (a single dominant trunk from the roots to the uppermost top) and instead has only 3-5 well spaced main branches. These main branches are called scaffold branches.

Start training the first year by pruning off everything but 3 or 4 strong and widely separated shoots to serve as main scaffold branches. If some of the branches chosen to be scaffold branches are very long, you can cut off the end of the branches to encourage more branching. The second year, continue your selection of scaffold branches by choosing a few more from the new shoots. Remove all the other young shoots. You may wish to reassess and remove branches previously planned to serve as scaffolds, leaving new shoots to serve in their place. Remember, you are training the tree for an ultimate goal of 3–5 well spaced and open scaffold branches. The third year, continue with the scaffold selection if you are not yet satisfied, and continue to prune out unwanted branches.

During the training process, you may wish to employ extra methods to space the scaffold branches other than selecting naturally grown
branches. Pieces of wood can be placed between branches to improve spacing (figure 1). Spacing with objects should be done for as short a time period as possible and should be done carefully so as not to damage bark.

Older sweet cherry trees require little maintenance pruning. Annually thin twiggy branches to allow light and air to penetrate further into the canopy. Also remove any dead, damaged, or diseased branches. You may remove the ends of scaffold branches annually to keep the tree at a desired height. Keep in mind that sweet cherries fruit at the base of last year’s new growth and all along older branches. Sour cherries fruit only on tissue that grew the previous year, so pruning of older sour cherries involves removing approximately a quarter of the branches that fruited the previous year. That way new shoots are stimulated to grow and have some room to do so.

DISEASE & PEST CONTROL

The best defense against pests and diseases is to provide the plants with the right location, adequate drainage, and deep watering. Cherries are susceptible to certain diseases and pests, and monitoring for problems is a good idea.

Good garden hygiene is also important. Use sharp, clean pruners to prevent damage and the spread of disease from other plants. Cleaning up dead leaves beneath the plants in the fall is also a good practice. This will help remove any diseases or pests which are attempting to overwinter there.

Trimming Cherry Trees - When And How To Prune A Cherry Tree

All fruiting trees need to be pruned and cherry trees are no exception. Whether sweet, sour, or weeping, knowing when to prune a cherry tree and knowing the correct method for cutting back cherries are valuable tools. So, if you want a cherry tree that will provide maximum fruit production, ease of harvest and care, and is aesthetically pleasing in appearance, you’ll need to prune your tree. The question is what is the proper method for cherry tree pruning? Let’s talk cherry tree pruning care.

Why Trim a Cherry Tree?

Pruning cherries, or any fruit tree for that matter, is of paramount importance. The primary reason for trimming cherry trees is to ensure the most optimal access to sunlight. Cherry tree pruning allows for aeration, allowing light channels to penetrate the tree, allowing a better fruit set, ease of harvest, and the ability to battle or thwart disease.

So in essence, when you trim a cherry tree back, it will be allowed to develop a proper form, yielding higher quality fruit earlier in its life and remaining healthier overall. Trees that have been improperly pruned or trained tend to have upright branch angles, which may lead to limb damage under heavy fruit production.

When to Prune a Cherry Tree

The rule of thumb when pruning fruit trees is to do so when the tree is dormant during the winter. However, cutting back sweet cherries is an exception to this rule. Sweet cherries are more susceptible to fungal and bacterial diseases, especially on recently cut limbs, so it is best to prune them in the late summer. Keep in mind that summer pruning reduces the tree’s energy for fruit production as well as its growth, so this should be minimal using only thinning cuts. Thinning cuts are those which remove an entire shoot, branch, or limb up to the point of its origin and do an excellent job of opening up the canopy.

Dormant pruning is a more aggressive pruning. When a large portion of the tree is removed during the dormant season, the energy reserves of the tree remain unchanged. The timing of dormant season pruning is critical, and should begin as late in the winter as feasible to avoid injuring the tree. Sour and weeping fruit trees may be pruned at this time once the risk of winter frost has passed.

Early spring is also prime time for pruning young cherry trees, shaping and training the young tree before it blossoms. Pruning should begin as buds emerge, but wait until all chance of extreme cold temperatures have passed to avoid possible cold injury, as younger trees are more susceptible to this. Mature cherries can be pruned in early spring too, or after they bear fruit.

How to Prune a Cherry Tree

The tools needed to trim a cherry tree back include: a hand pruner, long handled lopping shears, and a pruning saw. Bypass pruners are better than anvil; they can get a closer pruning job done than anvil pruners. The number one task in cherry tree pruning care, actually prior to pruning any bearing tree, is to sterilize your pruning tools. This is to prevent the potential spread of disease from other plants to the cherry. You can wipe the blades down with rubbing alcohol and a rag or mix a solution of one part bleach to nine parts water and then rinse with clean water and dry.

How to Prune Cherry Trees When Young

Young cherry trees should be pruned into an open vase-like shape to allow for light and air penetration which increases the number of blooms, hence an abundant fruit set.

First, cut the suckers off the trunk of the tree and any shoots from limbs that are pointing towards the trunk of the tree as well as any weak branches. All of these are rather pointless shoots that strive to take nutrients from the areas of the tree you want them to go. Cutting them also serves to increase air circulation. Cut the sucker right outside the branch collar, the raised area where the stem meets the trunk. Also, cut any obviously dead, diseased, or broken branches.

Head the tree in fall or winter, an exception to the above rule. A heading cut is the removal of part of a shoot, branch, or limb, up to one-third to one-half its length. If you head in the spring, you will be lopping off developed buds, potential fruit. Heading means cutting off the top of the leader, the central trunk to encourage growth of the lateral branches. This is done within the first year or two to control the tree’s shape. Be sure the sapling is well over 30 inches (76 cm.) tall before heading it. Make a 45-degree angle cut on the leader, leaving the tree 24 to 36 inches (61-92 cm.) tall.

In the subsequent year, begin creating a scaffold whorl, a set of four lateral branches extending out from the tree which provides a solid stricter. Choose four sturdy, evenly spaced branches to keep and prune out the others. Opt for limbs that are at a 45 to 60-degree angles to the leader and at least 8 inches (20 cm.) apart vertically from the lowest branch about 18 inches (46 cm.) above the ground. Cut those four branches back to 24 inches (61 cm.) with one-fourth inch angled cuts above the buds. This is where new growth will emerge. Continue to make clean cut flush against the leader to remove the remaining branches.

The following year, create a second scaffold whorl. The tree will be taller now, so select another set of four branches to keep about 2 feet (61 cm.) higher than the first set. Choose branches that don’t fall over the older primary limbs. Repeat as above to create a second scaffold.

Pruning Mature Cherries

Once the tree is three years old, it’s time to promote outward growth by pruning out new vertical limbs. At this point you will need loppers or pruning saws, not shears. Again, clean the tools prior to use. Also, prune out any dead or diseased limbs and dead fruit. Cut back any suckers at the base of the tree. Remove any crossed branches.

Cherries are prone to disease, so be sure to clean up all the discarded remnants. Also, cover all cuts with a tree sealant to fend off disease.

In summary, when you prune cherries, remember your goal. You are trying to create a tree that is well balanced, open and manageable, as well as aesthetically pleasing. There is no real science for pruning fruit trees. Some of it is trial and error. Look at the tree carefully and try to envision it as it will look when it’s leafed out in the summer, and eliminate any shoots that seem too closely spaced.

how to prune correctly, scheme of crown formation of old and young trees

Cherry pruning is needed not only to form a beautiful crown. The main purpose of this procedure is to increase productivity. Unfortunately, not every gardener can boast of a good knowledge of pruning principles. In order for the cherry to grow more actively and delight its owners with ripe and large berries, you need to adhere to certain (not at all complicated) rules.

Contents

Should cherries be trimmed at all?

Many novice gardeners ask themselves the question: do you need to prune cherries at all? Of course, it is necessary. This tree boasts very fast growth and branching, so if it is not pruned, the crown will tangle very quickly, the central branches will no longer receive enough light and air, and fruiting will deteriorate or stop altogether. nine0003

Regular pruning of a plant will have a positive effect on it:

General principles of trimming

The entire trimming process can be roughly divided into two steps:

When pruning cherries, thinning is most often used. This is due to the fact that her buds are located closer to the ends of the branches, so shortening will be less effective in improving fruiting.

To learn how to prune cherries correctly, you also need to be able to identify the type of branch:

Cutting methods

When pruning cherries, the following cuts are most often used:

The diagram clearly shows how a particular cut is made

Many gardeners know that most plants should be cut with preparations such as ground coal or garden pitch to protect the branch from infections and improve healing, but on cherry this rule does not apply. nine0083 Processing cut branches of a cherry tree or bush will lead to difficulty in recovery.

When to prune cherries

Cherries (of any variety and type) are pruned every year. A fresh seedling, planted in March-April before the buds swell, is pruned immediately after planting to form a crown.

Any tree or shrub is pruned in early spring, before the buds swell. At this time, active sap flow has not yet begun, and the plant will tolerate the removal and shortening of branches well. If you did not have time to cut the cherry in March, you should not cut the branches after the swelling of the buds - there is a high probability that they will dry out to the very base. nine0003

Cherry pruning should be carried out before bud break

In summer, after fruiting, only mature, well-developed trees can be pruned. Autumn pruning is, as a rule, sanitary in nature - before winter, weak, drying, diseased branches are removed from cherries in order to facilitate wintering for the plant.

This sanitary pruning can be carried out in any month if necessary. If you notice a diseased or drying branch, remove it immediately. In autumn, it is worthwhile to carefully examine the tree for damaged or weak branches and cut them out, if any. nine0003

Crown formation

The best option for such a fruit tree is considered to be a sparsely-tiered crown. When shaping, they use the same methods as when trimming: shortening and thinning.

The formation of the crown is carried out only after planting the cherry in its permanent place. Therefore, if you dug a cherry for the winter, you need to cut it only after landing in the garden.

Skeletal branches of the first order are formed in the seedling immediately after planting in the spring. To do this, choose about 5 of the strongest branches, the lowest of which should be located at a distance of about 20–30 cm above the ground. All branches growing below this threshold are removed to the ring. nine0083 For skeletal branches, those that grow at an angle of 40-50 degrees from the trunk are best suited. Shoots growing at sharper angles may break off under the weight of the berries. Choose branches that grow at the same distance from each other and are located along the entire diameter of the trunk.

The formation of skeletal branches after planting is an important stage in the care of the seedling

In the second year, branches of the second order are formed. To do this, remove the shoots growing on the upper side of the skeletal branches. It is also necessary to cut into a ring all the shoots that have grown from the trunk in a year. The central conductor (or, as it is also called, the leader) is cut in such a way that it is 25–30 cm higher than the uppermost tier of branches, no more. nine0003

When forming the crown of the seedling, branches growing inside the crown, weak twigs and small shoots on the lower part of the trunk are removed

Pruning features

Of course, pruning of different types of cherries differs from each other. Moreover, the same tree at different periods of its life also needs to be cut in its own way.

Tree cherry

For the gardener, the bouquet twigs and annual shoots of the tree cherry are of the greatest interest - it is on them that most of the berries are formed. The main operation is crown thinning to stimulate an increase in the number of fruitful areas. nine0003

Tree cherries are distinguished by their large size and high stems

When pruning tree cherries, the following procedures are carried out:

Bush cherries

A feature of bush cherries is fruiting on annual shoots. Accordingly, when pruning this cherry, special attention should be paid to their constant active development.

Shrub cherries have a low trunk and compact size

When pruning bush cherries, follow these guidelines:

Young tree

When the seedling is established in its permanent place, it is pruned to form the correct crown. For this, only skeletal branches are left, and the rest are cut into a ring, leaving no hemp. At the same time, the rings are treated, contrary to the rule, with garden pitch. nine0003

The young cherry tree is pruned mainly to shape the crown

The following year, the biennial tree is protected from excessive thickening of the crown. To do this, remove the branches growing inside the crown. In the summer, you can still remove the green shoots growing on the trunk until they have time to get stronger. If they were not removed during the summer months, then these lignified branches are removed only the next year, in the spring.

In the future, new skeletal branches are formed near the tree, choosing them from among the strongest on the trunk, so that their number gradually increases to 13–15. nine0003

Rejuvenation of old cherries

Rejuvenation pruning of tree-like cherries is carried out when the bases of the skeletal branches are bare, and the annual growth becomes large and amounts to more than 10-15 cm. It is necessary to shorten the branches by a four-year-old wood. If the entire branch or its tip is bare, then they rejuvenate to the side branch of an older - five- or six-year-old - wood.

Bush cherries are rejuvenated when the branches are significantly exposed and growth is weakened. Branches are pruned to strong lateral branches grown on three-year-old wood. nine0003

Rejuvenation of an old tree should be carried out systematically. If the old cherry tree is already heavily neglected, then such pruning is carried out systematically for several years so as not to injure the plant too much. Rejuvenation is carried out along with the planned spring pruning.

The principles of rejuvenating pruning of old trees are quite simple:

With regular pruning of old cherries, their age becomes less noticeable - they continue to bear abundantly. It is produced when the cherry reaches a height of 3-4 meters. Thus, the growth of the plant is limited. In this case, the conductor is transferred to a strong side branch. nine0003

The top of the cherry tree is also cut off when the conductor is more than 30 cm higher than the top skeletal branches.

You can easily see strong skeletal branches in this cherry
Young cherry after pruning gets a beautiful crown shape
Thanks to pruning, cherry blossoms do not prevent small branches from accessing light and air. nine0222

Proper yearly pruning of cherries is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. Give the plant your care and time, and it will thank you with ripe berries and beautiful foliage.