All summer residents and gardeners dream of the trees on the site being beautifully trimmed and bearing fruit well. First of all, an abundance of yields in fruit trees and good, healthy growth of branches can be facilitated by their annual pruning. As you know, removing new young shoots and removing old and dead branches, the gardener helps to improve metabolism. The strength of the tree begins to go to fewer branches, due to which they become stronger, stronger and the fruits are sweet and large.

Is it possible to prune fruit trees in summer

The main stages of pruning fruit trees should be carried out in spring and autumn, when the fruits have not yet begun to set and when they have already fallen off. Therefore, many gardeners do not know if fruit trees can be pruned in summer. In June and July, this procedure should not be missed, perhaps even it should be carried out without fail.

In summer, young, green shoots are mainly formed. Many believe that they need to be allowed to grow and that young branches will help bring a bountiful harvest and give life to an old tree. But this is not entirely true, such a procedure allows you to give more strength and energy to other, already fruiting branches. In addition, the crown is thinned out in this way. Here, the positive moment is not only the visual effect, that it will look more beautiful and neat. Thinning the crown allows the sun's rays to better pass through the leaves, and so the fruits will be much more saturated with the sun, therefore, they will ripen faster and will be juicy, large.

Summer pruning of fruit trees

Summer pruning of fruit trees is much easier to carry, as trees gain strength from the sun, watering, flowering. Thanks to this, wounds from cut branches or shoots heal many times faster than in autumn or spring. Since during this period the trees are either just beginning to come to life after winter, or are already preparing for its onset.

How to do summer pruning of fruit

In the summer, the "pinching" or "pinching" method is popular, it consists in cutting the very tips of the young shoots of the tree, which at this time will have only a couple of leaves. It is better to repeat this procedure 1-2 times a month, and only in the fall the time will come when it will be possible to determine exactly the need to completely eliminate the shoot or branch, since "pinching" can greatly slow down growth and completely prevent it for some time ...

Top dressing of fruit trees

Often this pruning technique is used to avoid the appearance of young shoots, on which buds may begin to appear prematurely in the spring. In this case, the leaves will appear early, and the reappearance of buds, buds and, accordingly, fruits will be strongly delayed.

Important! It is also necessary to remove the shoots that appear on the main trunk, completely breaking out from the root. They grow vertically and are of no use, since they will not produce fruit-bearing branches.

There is another rarely used technique called "break". Its essence is to break a growing branch. The branch will begin to grow in a given direction, for example, downward or horizontally. Young shoots are deformed quite easily, for this it is enough just to squeeze it with your fingers and bend it a little in the right direction. Thus, the sprout will be strengthened in the required shape. This procedure can be carried out with large branches that are already a couple of years old.To do this, you can cut them a little with an ax, but be careful not to break the branch completely. The incision needs to be made just above the middle so that the fiber in the center holds the branch and transfers nutrients to it.

Pruning shoots

Pinching - what is it

Fruit tree pests

But the most useful and most frequently used pruning method is "pinching" (probably from the word "tweezers", the task of which is to remove one hair, thread, etc.). A branch is cut, or rather its young shoots at the very beginning in the place where it grows from the main branch or tree. In this case, it is important to leave the very beginning of the young shoot, for example, the lower pair of leaves. Thus, soon a new shoot will begin to appear from the cut off place.

When the young twig becomes a couple of centimeters in size and leaves begin to appear on it, the procedure should be repeated. Thus, by repeating these actions after a certain period of time, the gardener will achieve the formation of strong young shoots. Strength will not be spent on countless thin and weak shoots. Strong branches with strong wood will gradually form, which will give a rich harvest next year. In the same year, they will only enhance the flow of juices to already growing fruits.

Tips and tricks for beginner gardeners

Watering fruit trees

Attention! It is important to figure out exactly how to cut the branches. A too oblique cut will not be correct, but you also do not need to cut straight, an angle of inclination of about 15-25 ° should be maintained. It is important to keep the distance between the leaf cuttings and the trunk. Do not prune immediately after escaping, but do not leave too much wood on top of the area. The ideal distance from the escape will be 1-3 cm.

It is best to cut off shoots that are directed deep into the crown or vertically, those that are directed to the sides are best left before autumn. If everything is done according to the indicated scheme, then with the onset of autumn it will remain to cut off only the shoots that are starting to grow and side branches of a small diameter.

Principles of tree pruning

In the summer, shrubs should also be pruned, the technology is basically the same, but there are nuances. In the summer, it is worth working on the volume of the bush. If the gardener wants him to be more magnificent, then you need to cut off shoots or young branches from the inside. So the growth will be directed exactly there, and the shrub will look more luxuriant. Pruning should be done even with newly planted seedlings, since they need strength most of all.

To summarize, it is worth noting that summer pruning of fruit trees is the removal of young branches that do not carry functional value. They only take away strength from the main tree, and with each shoot removed, the tree becomes lighter, and it saturates all the remaining parts and, mainly, fruits with life.

In the Moscow region, the Leningrad region and other regions of the country, the weather is cold for most of the year, and summer is a kind of island of warmth on which trees can bloom in full force for such a short period. Therefore, it is at this time that they require the most care and attention. In addition, do not forget that in warm weather, when the trees have already gained enough strength, they must be cut. At the same time, the rate of healing and formation of the bark will be several times higher than after a similar procedure carried out at other times of the year.