Trying to focus on own stuff and forget the craziness going on in the World outside our front door – have found an escape in pruning our fruit trees. Gardening is always good (for me) to bring you back to Earth and what is really important. Although outside World more and more seems to draw us away from what really is important.
Although trained and have a First Degree in Commercial Horticulture mostly everything i do, including pruning is from intuition with a few guidelines picked up from old souls discovered along the way. Do look at books to remember the basics but outside in the windy garden in January follow my gut.
We have 5 medium sized apple trees we inherited (two of these are cooking apples), two small apple trees we bought and two we grafted from one of the inherited trees which seems to be on its way out. We also have a Plum and Greengage – which are very tricky to prune. Advice given – leave these alone if you dont really know what you are doing
Our biggest fear is ‘Scab’ and ‘Honey Fungus’ – both of which our garden has. The first i think because the trees are older and we wernt careful enough to clean our secetaurs when we go and help in another garden where the trees were neglected and very big and old. The Honey Fungus was in the garden and probably because stumps of old trees have been left in the ground.
Honey Fungus is a monstor and attacks diseased woody shrubs which are susceptible. One solution have heard, apart from selecting new honey fungus resistant varieties as you restock is to collect your wood ash from the fire and sprinkle in a circle around the perimeter of wher the roots of your trees are growing. Something in wood ash – helps the tree.
When i prune an established fruit tree – in theory first remove as they tell you – any crossing and diseased branches and any branches growing inwards to open up the center of the tree. I stand back and look at the tree many times to try and create a balanced shape and bring down the height a little. No point having branches so high – you cant reach the fruit and it drops and brusies and not good for storing.
Last summer our trees produced too many small fruits – which we should have thinned and perhaps because of incredably hot summer for England – the fruit and trees suffered and for the first time our trees showed signs of ‘Blossom Wilt’. It is very important to cut away any blossom and shrivelled fruit remaining on your trees when you prune.
Also good to make sure the earth below your fruit trees is clear of leaf litter and any competing plants and shrubs.
Prune your apple trees now – while they are dormant in January, February – it is too late in March.
When you are finished, take away what you have cut and burn especially if diseased.
Every year when the trees blossom and later fruit arrives in the autumn – you learn a bit more – what works and what doesn’t. Find yourself in a boot sale an old book about pest and diseases in fruit trees. If you are lucky these books usually have much more – including old recipes.
Photographs might help. Feeding and mulching your trees – generally giving them some love – might give you a good start in spring and look out and use prevention for the codling moths which will cause damaged fruit.
sunnypolarbear 