Pruning in the fall: purpose and features

Plum pruning in autumn is mandatory after harvest, from mid-September. In the first two or three years, the skeletal branching of the crown is formed, the extra branches that can thicken it or are weakened or removed. At the same time, one-year increments are shortened and the tops of the strongest shoots cut off, on which there are spurs with underdeveloped buds and necessarily with frozen wood, in order to strengthen branching.

Plum, planting and care, pruning which is very similar to the similar procedures for a cherry tree, is a deciduous stone fruit. Its height in some regions reaches seven meters. When the tree enters the normal fruiting period, the pruning of the plum in the fall is carried out to maintain the strength of its growth. In addition, the crown is greatly thinned for normal development, thickening, as well as interlacing or shaded branches are removed, are sent to free places.

Pruning an old plum is also necessary in order to prepare the tree for wintering, so it also has a sanitary character. Dry and broken branches infected with disease or insects are removed. In general, some gardeners, when identifying a dangerous pest, pruning an old tree is carried out regardless of the season of the year. This is done in order to avoid the defeat of neighboring cultures.

Some varieties of plums that bear fruit on the shports - short branches, for example the Zyuzin variety, very quickly develop into large trees with powerful branches. It is more correct to cut them in a discharged-tiered system with impressive distances between the processes, avoiding sharp angles of their departure from the main trunk.

Already in the fourth year during the initial fruiting and strong growth, reaching up to seventy centimeters, pruning the plum in the autumn is to shorten the annual growths to a quarter of their length in order to strengthen the development of the Shpor and branching. Otherwise, the lower part of the crown will be underdeveloped. At the same time, and the Shpors, remaining weak, quickly die out, and this affects the yield.

Plum pruning in the fall is done based on the shape of the crown to be obtained: bushy, pyramidal for dwarf or palmetto varieties, as well as for tall trees. Much attention during this process should be given to reducing the risk of exposure to white rot and gumming. Therefore, the slices on the sink must be done very carefully, so as not to accidentally damage the wood, using a sharp knife, saw or secateurs. After that, the "wound" is covered with a garden fume. In this case, sick, withered and broken branches need to be burned.

Those varieties of this culture that bear fruit on their elongated growths from lateral buds, such as Iskra, Skorospelka, Timiryazev's Memory, etc., need to be molded both in bushy and in tiered systems with obligatory thinning. In this case pruning the plum in the autumn is carried out depending on the age of the branches, therefore, the cropping should be done in different ways. Shoots of one year are shortened according to a single principle.

Correct and competent pruning of plums in the fall contributes to a good harvest, especially since from all representatives of stone fruit this fruit tree is the easiest to carry this process.