Planting and Pruning your new Fruit Trees

There are many good web sites that cover this subject and we suggest you look at some of these. This especially important for later pruning. The website https://homeguides.sfgate.com/prune-1st-year-fruit-trees- 56456.html is a good one if you remove a few errors. Your tree will be dormant (no leaves) , it will come to life next spring. First dig a nice hole and add a Soil conditioner if your soil is not nice and loose (lots of clay). Spread the roots out in the hole and plant the tree with the graft about 2 inches above the ground level. Soak with water and stake if necessary. First year pruning appears drastic but you will be glad you did. Your tree has been pruned a small amount before shipping but not enough. There are essentially 2 techniques of pruning fruit trees, Central Leader and Open Center. Pruning can be carried out on planting or in early spring before bud break.

Central Leader– This method is generally used for apples, pears, and cherries. Cut an unbranched whip off from 30 to 36 inches above the ground at a sloping angle one-quarter-inch above a bud. Prune the top of a branched sapling back to about 24 inches above the highest of the two bottom branches but not higher than 36 inches.. New shoots sprout from below the cut. Prune off lateral branches that are closer than 6 to 8 inches apart and those that meet the trunk at angles less than about 45 degrees. Ideally, leave three to four branches arranged in a spiral around the trunk in the first year of growth.

Open Center- This method is used for peaches. nectarines, apricots, and pluns. Cut the top of your whip down to 30 to 36 inches tall. On a branched sapling select three or four lateral branches that are evenly spaced around the main leader with wide angle of attachment. Cut away any side branches that begin lower than 20 to 24 inches from the ground. If there are fewer than three suitable laterals remove all side branches and treat it as a whip. Cut the central leader just above the highest celected lateral branch. You now have three or four leaders.

IF IT LOOKS LIKE A TERRIBLE STICK, YOU HAVE DONE IT RIGHT. LATER YOU WILL PRUNE DIFFERENTLY ACCORDING TO THE AGE OF THE TREE (YEAR 1, YEAR 2, YEAR 3 and so on).

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