Pruning plums - how to carry out the procedure in the fall
August and September are busy months for the gardener: harvesting is in full swing, the beginning of preparing the plants for winter. For trees, the formation of the crown remains very important during this period, since the health and size of the harvest for the next year depends on it. Pruning plums in the fall is carried out according to a certain scheme aimed at increasing the volume of fruiting.
Pruning plums - how to carry out the procedure in the fall
The need for pruning
All varieties of plums are characterized by fast crown thickening. They have good regeneration, allowing a lot of side branches to grow in a short time. They pull off the flow of nutrients necessary for sowing the crop.
Several pruning is planned for this crop per year. Spring and autumn are basic.
Correct cutting of shoots, maintaining the required crown density guarantees a large number of fruits and their amicable ripening.
There are certain schemes for pruning young trees and rejuvenating old ones. It's not difficult even for beginners.
Optimal time
For a tree, both autumn and spring pruning is important.
In the spring, it is of a sanitary nature: broken, damaged branches are removed.
In autumn, it is aimed at thinning and removing young branches, adjusting the height and width of the crown. It is during this period that those small twigs that have grown during the summer are clearly visible, and will actively interfere with the penetration of sunlight to flowers and fruits in the next season.
Another important argument in favor of autumn pruning is the dormant time of the tree: it will calmly endure all the manipulations, the damage will heal, the cuts will heal under the garden pitch.
In the cool of September, bacteria no longer spread and fungal infections do not survive.
Regional features
In different regions of the country, pruning times will vary depending on climatic conditions.
- In central Russia - from September to mid-October.
- In the southern regions, winter is 1-2 weeks late and sap flow stops later, so the procedure is left for the last days of September.
- In Siberia and the Urals at this time it is already very cold and even if the snow will not fall soon, but the frosts are not going to recede. In these regions, all work is completed at the beginning of the first autumn month.
It is worth considering: it is convenient to navigate by the time of leaf fall and pruning after it.
It will take 1-2 months for the tree to fully recover. Timely performed manipulations will give the plum a chance to leave for the winter, gaining strength and without a heavy load of unnecessary branches.
Description of technology
The principle of crown formation is different from other trees, although the requirements remain general.
Branches are deleted immediately:
- growing downward, inward, crossing;
- thickening the crown;
- too long;
- broken, damaged by disease or pests.
After that, a more thoughtful examination of the plum begins.Since there is a harsh winter ahead with snowfalls and winds that can break a branch or damage a tree, substitute branches are sure to be left. If they are not needed, then they are removed in the spring.
Disinfect the instrument before trimming.
To carry out pruning, you need to prepare:
- garden knife;
- saw;
- secateurs;
- stairs;
- gloves;
- means for disinfecting instruments;
- garden var.
Formation of young plums
Not only its appearance depends on how correctly the pruning was done at the beginning of a tree's life, but also its further development, yield, and fruiting period.
When the seedling is cut for the first time, the top is shortened by 1/3, the side branches by 2/3.
In the following years, the long branches are removed by 1/3, and the height is also controlled. The largest bud is selected and the main trunk is cut above it. If a shoot is formed that is parallel to the skeletal branch, it is removed completely.
There should be no lateral branches on the trunk at 0.5 m from the ground.
The optimum tree height is 2.5 m. It is convenient to harvest from such a plum, to process it from pests, the root system provides the plant with nutrients, forming large juicy fruits.
Rejuvenating pruning of old trees
Plum fruiting period is 10-15 years. It can be extended with anti-aging pruning. It falls in the autumn so that the plant will recover by winter.
Important: the procedure is designed for 2-3 years, if you remove all unnecessary branches at once, then the tree will get stress and in most cases it will die.
- First, diseased and weakened processes growing inside the crown are cut out.
- Then comes the turn of the young growth.
- At the end, branches are removed, the age of which does not exceed 3-4 years.
After 5 years, the procedure is repeated.
Features of pruning columnar varieties
These varieties require special care. If they are not trimmed, for 2-3 years they begin to resemble poplar in shape, and you can forget about the harvest.
The base is made up of the trunk, from which half-meter lateral branches extend - they also grow in too much quantity, therefore, they need corrective pruning.
The characteristics of the variety include early maturity, high palatability.
Both yellow and blue plums are pruned in the same way: you only need to maintain the desired height and shorten the side shoots to 20 cm.
It is convenient to plant columnar plants in small areas, since 3 sq. m you can safely place 3-4 trees.
Follow-up care
To support the tree after the procedure, it should be well cared for. It consists in abundant watering with the addition of complex fertilizer, cleaning the cut sites and processing them with garden pitch, loosening and mulching the trunk circle with crushed bark, peat, and wood chips.
Feeding with organic matter is allowed, wood ash containing potassium and phosphorus is especially effective. These elements accelerate regeneration and increase frost resistance. Ash is dissolved in water at the rate of 1 tbsp per bucket or sprinkled on top of the trunk circle.
Pruning plums in autumn prolongs the fruiting period, improves the air permeability of the crown, and gives the tree a chance to survive the winter without frostbite and broken branches. In the spring, all that remains is to remove damaged shoots and look forward to a bountiful harvest.