Back to Basics: Fruit Tree Pruning Videos
Here are a couple of videos that I hope will give beginners a bit of pruning confidence. Thanks to my buddy Ray at Soulhaven Productions for making them and thanks to Barry for letting us film his trees!
These fruit tree pruning videos won't answer all your questions, not by a long shot. But they will, I hope, encourage you to trust yourself and have a go. Every year you'll be a little bit wiser. You got this, my friends.
Step One: The Shape
Start by taking a good look at your trees and noticing their natural shape. It helps to talk to locals about the shapes they have chosen for their trees - your soil and climate makes such a big difference.
Step Two: The Framework
Begin with the framework - loppers and saw in hand. It's amazing the difference removing one whole branch makes - often times this is all that's needed.
If your fruit trees are big wild crazy things, don't prune them back to a classic shape all in one go. The harder you prune this year, the harder they'll shoot next year. Keep growth steady by only removing about a third of the canopy. Stack the prunings beside you as you go for a clear visual of this.
Pick one branch to remove. Choose the big branch that's cluttering up the middle or the tallest branch and remove it right back at the trunk. Stand back and decide whether or not to go for another. Something is better than nothing. And less is better that more :)
If your trees are newbies, here's how to prune new fruit trees.
Step Three: The Branches
Finish with the branches. Go methodically along each one
- de clutter by pruning off spindly shoots, thick, fat shoots, broken shoots - all in all leaving about a 10 - 20cm space between each shoot for light and air. Leave more space in cold and damp places, less in hot and dry places.
- shorten any of the remaining shoots that are overly long.
Remember to admire all the fruit buds as you go. They've grown just for you.
Kath Irvine