peachy Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Does anyone know when you are supposed to trim/prune trees and shrubs? I've always heard only in months with an a, husband has been trimming and cutting like crazy, I'm afraid he's going to kill everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikonSniper Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 It's dark or I'd take a picture of our apple tree but here's one I found on the net that looks about like how we trimmed ours. Pompeii 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harvey Mungaknuts Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 I always wait till end of January or into February to make sure sap is down. i believe it is any month with an "R" to prune or transplant. Others here are more knowledgeable thanm I though Pompeii 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitter Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 We did ours a week ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Any time from November to March unless the weather is unusually warm. Then wait awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 There is a different time and method to prune any tree or shrub. Doing it properly will make the difference between a plant that lives long and produces good fruit or flowers, and a plant that is slowly dying by inches through the years. The tree pictured may develop bushy growth at the tips but will probably die out after a few years. The main branch tip growth where hormones are produced has been destroyed and the resulting growth will never be as strong as the original main branches. The bark will never close over those cuts. Even if it gets really full it will shade the main part of the tree too much and the result will probably be lots of fungus. The cut tips may allow rot into the tree that will kill it over a long period of time. A tree needs sunlight inside of it to allow fruit to ripen, and air circulation to dry it and keep diseases at bay. The one pictured will need lots of restorative pruning if it survives long enough for the pruning to be worthwhile. This is a free Penn State publication with wonderful information that you can print out. pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/AGRS95.pdf For some plants it has to be right after they flower, for others it's when the tree is dormant (probably in the middle of winter) when there is no sap or moisture to support fungal growth and the cut can harden before those diseases begin to grow in warmer weather. There is no one size fits all in pruning unless you don't really care if the plant dies or doesn't produce. For apples: http://extension.psu.edu/plants/gardening/fphg/pome/pruning All Horticultural information is free and questions can be sent to the attention of a Penn State Master Gardener whose job is to provide researched gardening information to the public. 849-7361 or e-mail JeffersonExt@psu.edu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikonSniper Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 There is a different time and method to prune any tree or shrub. Doing it properly will make the difference between a plant that lives long and produces good fruit or flowers, and a plant that is slowly dying by inches through the years. The tree pictured may develop bushy growth at the tips but will probably die out after a few years. The main branch tip growth where hormones are produced has been destroyed and the resulting growth will never be as strong as the original main branches. The bark will never close over those cuts. Even if it gets really full it will shade the main part of the tree too much and the result will probably be lots of fungus. The cut tips may allow rot into the tree that will kill it over a long period of time. A tree needs sunlight inside of it to allow fruit to ripen, and air circulation to dry it and keep diseases at bay. The one pictured will need lots of restorative pruning if it survives long enough for the pruning to be worthwhile. This is a free Penn State publication with wonderful information that you can print out. pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/AGRS95.pdf For some plants it has to be right after they flower, for others it's when the tree is dormant (probably in the middle of winter) when there is no sap or moisture to support fungal growth and the cut can harden before those diseases begin to grow in warmer weather. There is no one size fits all in pruning unless you don't really care if the plant dies or doesn't produce. For apples: http://extension.psu.edu/plants/gardening/fphg/pome/pruning All Horticultural information is free and questions can be sent to the attention of a Penn State Master Gardener whose job is to provide researched gardening information to the public. 849-7361 or e-mail JeffersonExt@psu.edu My father has been pruning his apple trees like the one above for many decades as he was taught by his parents and grand parents and I have been pruning mine the same way for over 20 years. It may be the wrong way or we have gotten lucky all these years but it works for us. Our apple trees had so many apples this past season that we had to give many 5 gallon buckets away so they didn't go to waste. Right or wrong it has worked for us. lavender 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 I think you have gotten lucky. Maybe they're all on a very windy slope and the conditions are absolutely perfect for tons of air flow, but it's not the researched way to prune them. Congratulations on a great apple crop. Hope I get as lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 My father has been pruning his apple trees like the one above for many decades as he was taught by his parents and grand parents and I have been pruning mine the same way for over 20 years. It may be the wrong way or we have gotten lucky all these years but it works for us. Our apple trees had so many apples this past season that we had to give many 5 gallon buckets away so they didn't go to waste. Right or wrong it has worked for us. They have been doing much the same thing or even more severe pruning to the catalpas on the hill and they have been thriving for the last 20 years that I have been watching them. And they were mature trees when I first noticed them. There is usually more than one way to do most things and who is to say that one is better than another? NikonSniper 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 That's what research is about. Better ways of doing things. Pheobe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peachy Posted December 22, 2014 Author Share Posted December 22, 2014 Thanks everyone, he pruned all of our fruit trees and I was so afraid that it would kill them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Let us know how they fare in the next year or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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