Content
- 1 Is it possible to prune cherry trees in summer?
- 2 When can you prune cherry trees in summer?
- 3 Schemes for pruning cherries in summer
- 4 How to prune cherry trees in summer
- 5 Cherry tree care after summer pruning
- 6 Conclusion
Pruning cherry trees in the summer is not always done, but it can be done, and sometimes even necessary. Summer pruning helps rid the plant of excess branches and improves the health of the cherry.
Is it possible to prune cherry trees in summer?
According to the rules for growing fruit trees, the main pruning work must be carried out in early spring or mid-autumn, at a time when the active growing season has not yet begun or has already ended. However, you can prune cherries in the summer; in the middle of the warm period, they are not as sensitive to pruning as during rapid growth.
When pruning in summer, it is necessary to observe moderation and not to injure the cherry too much.It is better to postpone a strong shaping haircut until autumn or early spring, but you can trim the branches a little or remove dried shoots in the summer.
In summer trim slightly
When can you prune cherry trees in summer?
In general, pruning cherry trees in the summer is allowed at several time intervals:
- after flowering, remove broken and dried branches;
- after fruiting, lightly prune young shoots to stimulate the formation of buds and ovaries in the next season.
In this case, the timing depends on the specific area of growth.
When can you prune cherry trees in the summer in the regions?
In the Moscow region and in the middle zone, summer begins quite early. Therefore, pruning is recommended to be done at the end of June or early July. An additional argument in favor of cutting in summer is the fact that it is in the middle of summer that cherries often suffer from moniliosis and coccomycosis. Light pruning will help remove diseased parts of the tree and prevent the disease from spreading further.
The timing of pruning depends on the region in which the fruit tree grows.
In Siberia and the Far East, summer pruning of cherries and tree shaping are generally considered undesirable. In these regions, cold weather sets in too early; after cutting, the cherry tree may not have time to recover properly. But if a haircut is still strictly necessary, then it should be done as early as possible in the summer - in June, immediately after stable warm weather sets in.
Haircut after harvesting fruits can be carried out in the summer in the middle zone and the Moscow region. In Siberia, the Urals and the Far East, it is recommended to disturb cherries to a minimum during this period and carry out only sanitary pruning. It is better to postpone the formation of the crown to early spring.
Dates for summer pruning of cherries according to the lunar calendar
In addition to the usual recommended timing of gardening, many gardeners take into account the lunar calendar. According to him, it is best to prune fruit trees in the 3rd or 4th phase of the night star, when the moon is waning.
The lunar calendar helps determine specific days for haircuts
According to popular belief, during this period the tree’s vital juices rush to the roots, and therefore pruning is less damaging to the above-ground parts of the plant. But on the full moon, on the new moon and on the 23rd day of the lunar calendar, pruning is prohibited.
Schemes for pruning cherries in summer
The algorithm for pruning a cherry tree in summer depends on many factors. First of all, you need to take into account the specific period of summer and the age of the plant - young, mature and old trees are pruned differently.
How to prune cherries in the summer after fruiting
Post-harvest pruning should be done in mid- or late August, after all the berries have been collected. The main goals of the procedure are as follows:
- sanitary thinning;
- shortening of annual shoots.
When pruning cherries in the summer after harvesting, you need to remove all diseased and broken cherry branches - they will no longer be useful. Young annual branches are cut to 1/5 of the total length, this stimulates fruiting next year.
How to prune young cherries in summer
Summer pruning of young cherry trees is allowed only if they are already 3 years old. The procedure looks like this:
- first, excess branches are removed from the crown, which will no longer participate in the formation of flowers and ovaries - broken, diseased and withered;
- after this, shoots are eliminated, the growth of which is directed in the wrong direction, inward, towards the trunk;
- if root growth is noticeable at the base, it can also be removed in the summer, then it will not take away nutrients from the tree.
Pruning young cherries in summer does not include removing skeletal branches, even if some of them need to be eliminated. This procedure traumatizes the tree too much and is recommended to be postponed until early spring.
Frame shoots should not be removed from young trees in the summer.
How to prune tall cherry trees in summer
If the cherry tree has grown too large and stretched too much upward, this can negatively affect its health and yield. A tall tree spends too many nutrients to maintain green mass, and therefore the number of fruits decreases.
When pruning a tall plant in the summer, you can cut off the top, leaving the tree to grow about 2-2.5 m. This procedure should be carried out as early as possible so that the cherry has time to recover before the cold weather. You can also cut off branches growing in the direction of the main trunk, remove all diseased shoots, and thin out excess branches that prevent sunlight from penetrating deep into the crown.
How to prune old cherry trees in summer
If a tree older than 10 years has grown greatly, then pruning can be done in the summer, this will have a rejuvenating effect. The main thing is to maintain moderation and not cause too much damage to the tree during the growing season.
When trimming an old tree, you can shorten the main shoots
When pruning old cherry trees in summer, it is recommended:
- leave only healthy shoots growing in the right direction, and cut off the rest;
- eliminate branches that have completely dried out or are heavily diseased;
- shorten frame shoots by cutting them to the first lateral branches.
If the old cherry tree has stretched out a lot, you can also shorten it at the top. When pruning cherries in the summer after fruiting, you should try to cut off as few branches as possible; radical anti-aging pruning should not be performed in the summer season.
How to shape a cherry tree in summer depending on the type
Summer pruning is affected not only by age, but also by the type of cherry tree. Different cherries differ greatly in shape, size and fruiting characteristics.
How to trim felt cherry trees in summer
Pruning felt cherry trees in summer has important features. Since the plant begins to bear fruit already 2-3 years after planting in the garden, pruning in the summer can be done, including for young cherries.
It should be taken into account that felt varieties bear fruit on annual shoots. During pruning, you cannot cut them; you can only shorten such branches by a third. But all unnecessary, old, twisted and diseased shoots must be removed in the summer - felt varieties grow very quickly, and thickening of the crown negatively affects fruiting.
A bush felt plant can be pruned harder than a tree plant.
Dwarf
Low-growing varieties of cherries can also be pruned as early as 2 years after planting. Trees grow quickly, so the gardener needs to regularly pay attention to the formation of the crown.
The rules for pruning in summer remain standard. First of all, you need to remove diseased and dry shoots, leaving them until autumn and especially until spring simply does not make sense. Also in summer, for dwarf varieties, you can remove several strong but improperly growing branches that contribute to thickening. In total, no more than 10 frame branches should remain on the tree for tree-like varieties and no more than 15 for bush dwarf plants.
Dwarf varieties need silhouette formation
Steppe
Summer pruning for steppe cherries is carried out in order to improve the health of the plant and thin out its crown. Accordingly, when pruning steppe varieties you need:
- completely remove shoots infected with diseases and pests before the disease spreads to healthy parts;
- cut off the top shoots - this will give the cherry a spherical shape and prevent the central part from thickening;
- remove several old branches on which fruits are no longer formed, but so that 6-8 strong shoots still extend from the trunk.
In general, when carrying out the procedure, you need to adhere to the standard rule and cut off only those parts that require urgent removal in the summer.
Steppe cherry thickens quickly and may require summer pruning
Columnar
Columnar varieties of cherries are very easy to care for, but for this they need to be trimmed regularly. Summer pruning of young plums and cherries allows, in addition to sanitary work:
- trim the top of the tree if the cherry tree has grown too high;
- remove branches located closer than 30 cm from the top;
- shorten the side shoots, but not more than 10 cm from the trunk;
- eliminate branches that grow at the wrong angle and spoil the shape of the crown.
It is better to postpone a strong shaping pruning, which involves the complete removal of excess branches, until the end of the growing season.
For columnar varieties, it is important to carry out crown formation in time
How to prune cherry trees in summer
When pruning in summer, you must adhere to the basic rules for trimming cherry trees. In addition, it is important to pay attention to caring for the tree immediately after the procedure to help it recover faster.
Preparation of tools and materials
To properly prune cherries in summer, a gardener will need a standard set of tools:
- a garden saw, with which it is convenient to remove thick shoots of a plant;
- pruning shears designed to remove medium and thin branches;
- wide and sharp garden knife;
- A lopper that allows you to carefully and quickly cut off inconveniently located shoots.
If you have to work with a tall mature tree, you need to take a stepladder. Trimming a cherry tree while standing directly on its branches is dangerous for the gardener, and it also harms the fruit plant.
Gardener's tools must be completely clean
Before pruning in the summer, all tools must be thoroughly disinfected, for example, with alcohol or a solution of potassium permanganate. Sterility will prevent infection from entering fresh sections. It is important that the tools are well sharpened; the more accurate the cuts, the faster the cherry will recover after pruning.
Pruning rules
When using any of the cherry pruning schemes in the summer in August, you must adhere to the basic rules:
- When pruning in the summer, they try to injure the cherry tree to a minimum, removing only those parts of the tree that really need to be removed urgently.
- Old branches and young shoots are cut off evenly and carefully, without leaving stumps; when it gets colder, they often begin to exude gum.
- The cuts are made at an angle of 40 °C - this is the least traumatic for the tree, and healing occurs faster.
- Strong and thin branches are cut only with a suitable tool - old shoots need to be removed with a saw, young shoots are more convenient to cut with a knife or pruning shears.
- Before removing young shoots, they are carefully inspected so as not to accidentally cut off the fruiting parts.
Immediately after cutting in the summer, fresh cuts on the branches must be treated with garden varnish or oil paint containing drying oil. This will not allow infections to penetrate into fresh wounds and prevent the appearance of gum; the health of the tree will not deteriorate after the procedure.
Cherry tree care after summer pruning
If pruning of the cherry tree in summer was carried out correctly, then the tree will not require special care after this procedure. Before the onset of late autumn, you will need to implement a standard series of measures:
- water the cherries, usually watering is carried out at the beginning of autumn and then again before the onset of winter;
- loosen the soil under its roots in mid-September or early October;
- feed the plant with phosphorus and potassium fertilizers before the onset of cold weather.
After pruning in the summer, autumn feeding becomes especially important; it will give the tree strength to recover, and in the spring the cherry will actively begin to grow.
Conclusion
Pruning cherry trees in summer is not the most popular procedure; it is usually carried out only when absolutely necessary. However, if you follow the basic rules, summer pruning of branches will not harm the tree and will only benefit it.
