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Guidelines for Summer Pruning & Size Control
Families today have less space for fruit trees, less time to take care of them, and less time to process or preserve large crops than in the past. Accordingly, today’s family orchards should be planned and managed differently. For years, most of the information about growing fruit came from commercial orchard culture: methods that promoted maximum size for maximum yield, but needed 12-foot ladders for pruning, thinning and picking, and 400 to 600 square feet of land per tree. Tree spacings had to allow for tractors. Most people today do not need or expect commercial results from their backyard fruit trees. A commercial grower would never consider using his methods on a 90 ft. x 100 ft. parcel, so why should a homeowner? The goal of Backyard Orchard Culture is the prolonged harvest of tree-ripe fruit from a small space. This means planting close together several fruit varieties that ripen at different times and keeping the trees small by summer pruning.
High Density Planting & Successive Ripening
Maximizing the length of the fruit season calls for the planting of several fruit varieties, each with a different ripening time. The limited space available to most homeowners requires size control of every fruit tree planted. Using one or more of the techniques for close planting and training, one may choose to plant fruit trees as two or three trees in one hole, espalier, or hedgerow; these are the most common techniques used for high density planting. Three trees instead of one yield eight to ten weeks of fruit instead of only two or three. Size control and close planting offer the added advantage of maximizing the use of your limited space. Close planting works best when rootstocks of similar vigor are planted together. For example, for a three-in-one-hole planting, three trees on the same rootstock - like Citation - is ideal. To keep a combination of one tree on Lovell, one on Myro 29c and one on Citation requires more attention to keep balanced growth. In many cases planting more varieties can also mean better cross-pollination of pears, apples, plums and cherries, which results in more consistent production.
Small trees yield crops of manageable size and are much easier to spray, thin, prune, net, and harvest than large trees. Small trees require less water than large trees, which saves money. If trees are kept small, it is possible to plant a greater number of trees, affording the opportunity for more kinds of fruit and a longer fruit season. Most semi-dwarfing rootstocks do not control fruit tree size as much as people expect. Rootstocks are for soil and climate adaptation, pest and disease resistance, precocity (heavy bearing in early years), tree longevity, and ease of propagation. To date, no rootstock has been developed which do all these things, plus fully dwarf the tree. The only way to keep most fruit trees under 8 feet tall is by pruning, and the most practical method of pruning is summer pruning.
In Backyard Orchard Culture tree size is the grower’s responsibility. Choose a size and don’t let the tree get any bigger. A good height is the height to which you can extend your hands straight up while standing on the ground. Keeping trees at 5 to 6 feet for greater pest and disease control is even better.
Understanding Reasons for Pruning
All fruiting plants require some sort of pruning. Most varieties of deciduous fruit trees require pruning to stimulate new fruiting wood, remove broken and diseased wood, space the fruiting wood, and to allow good air circulation and sunlight penetration through the canopy. Pruning is most important in the first three years, because this is when the shape and size of a fruit tree are established. It’s much easier to keep a small tree small than it is to make a large tree small. A size-control pruning at the same time as crop thinning is strongly recommended. By pruning when there is fruit on the tree, the kind of wood on which the tree sets fruit (one year-old wood, two-year-old wood, spurs, etc.) is apparent, which helps you learn to make better future pruning decisions.
Summer Pruning for Size Control
There are several reasons why summer pruning is the easiest way to keep fruit trees small. Reducing the canopy by pruning in spring stops the spring growth. Pruning in summer reduces photosynthesis (food manufacture), thereby reducing the capacity for new growth. Late summer pruning reduces the total amount of food materials and energy available to be stored in the root system in late summer and fall. This controls vigor the following spring since spring growth is supported primarily by stored foods and energy. Obviously, pruning is easier (and more likely to get done) in nice weather than in winter.
Not Being Intimidated by Planting or Pruning
Fruit tree planting and pruning needn’t be complicated or confusing. When planting, check soil drainage. If poor draining soils are suspected, consider a raised bed to protect the trees from oxygen starvation that can occur in heavy soil. Three trees can be planted in a 3x3 foot bed raised up at least 12 inches. Mounds should be twice as high as the ultimate desired height when planting. For example, a desired 12-inch-high mound should be 24 inches high when planting.
Getting Started with Backyard Orchard Culture
Get started by selecting stock from your local independent nursery. When possible, smaller caliper one-year trees are preferred; 5/8-inch caliper or smaller respond best to the initial cutting back. When selecting bare root two-year old trees, or trees that are 3/4-inch caliper or larger, it is best to look for trees with limbs established between 15 and 18 inches from the ground. Cut these back by 1/2 to 2/3. If choice is limited to trees with limbs starting higher than 18 inches, or bigger than 3/4 inch in caliper, consider delaying planting until suitable fruit trees can be obtained.
Established Container Tree
When selecting trees that have been established in a container it is best to choose trees that have the lowest strong limbs. Cut these limbs back by 1/2 to 2/3 depending on the length. Allow the tree to become established; wait until late winter to cut back the top to encourage lower laterals (primary scaffolds) to develop. For winter planting of year-old container trees, select trees with limbs that begin low - at least at the knee. Cut back the tree by 1/2. When planting a bareroot tree, cut side limbs back by half to two-thirds to promote vigorous new growth. Then, two or three times per year, cut back or remove limbs and branches to accomplish the following:
First Year
At planting, 1/4-inch to 5/8-inch bareroot trees may be topped as low as 12” to 15” above the ground to force very low scaffold limbs, or trees may be topped higher than 15” (up to four feet) depending on the presence of well-spaced existing side limbs or desired tree form. After the spring flush of growth cut the new growth back by half (late April/early May in Central California). In late summer (late August to mid-September) remove the summer flush of growth by half. Size control and development of low fruiting wood begin now.
When selecting containerized trees for planting in late spring/early summer, select trees with well-placed low scaffold limbs. These are usually trees that were cut back at the nursery at planting time to force low growth. Cut back new growth by half now, and again in late summer.
Two or Three in One Hole Most important! When choosing what to plant together select varieties with like spray and care requirements. Plant the trees 24-48 inches apart. If three trees, plant in a triangle with two trees to the north/northeast of the grouping. Cut back all trees to the same height, 12-18 inches from the ground. Cut back new growth by half in spring and cut the summer flush by half in late summer. In the first few years, cut back vigorous varieties as often as necessary to maintain a balanced development. Do not allow any one variety to dominate and shade out the others. Plant groupings of 2 or 3 trees in one hole, trees at least 12 to 15 inches apart to allow for adequate sunlight penetration and good air circulation.
Hedgerow Plantings - Easiest to maintain when trees are spaced at least 4 to 5 feet apart. Make sure that the placement of the hedgerow does not block air circulation and light from other plantings. Plant in a row with like fruit types ripening successively in the row. For example, an early, midseason and late peach, then an early, midseason and late plum, etc. Follow first year BYOC planting rules.
Second Year
Pruning is the same as the first year; cut back new growth by half in spring and then again in late summer. For some vigorous varieties, pruning three times may be the easiest way to manage the tree: spring, early summer and late summer. Prune single tree plantings to vase shape. Thin to open the center of the tree beginning in the second season. Multi plantings: thin out the center as if it were a multitrunked tree. Allow plenty of sunlight into the interior of the group of trees. Be careful to leave enough foliage to protect interior from sunburn. At any time remove broken or diseased limbs.
Third Year
Choose a height and don’t let the tree get any taller. Tree height is the decision of the pruner. Again, in late spring/early summer, cut back all spring growth by at least half. At this point begin to realize the height at which you will maintain the tree. Where limbs cross one another, one or both should be cut back and removed. Continue to maintain open center in both single and multi-plantings. Thin out canopy to allow filtered sunlight penetration and air circulation.
Apricots and Plums can require more pruning in the summer to control height. Prune as needed (2 to 3 times in the summer) to maintain a balanced canopy development.
Be careful not to cut too much at one time, as this will cause excess sun exposure of unprotected limbs, which can cause sunburn to the interior limbs. When removing larger limbs, make a cut on the under side of the limb before you make the main cut. This will prevent tearing on your main trunk. Never cut flush to the trunk; leave a short collar (stub) to encourage quicker healing.
Espaliers
Make sure to start with a good support structure. Then cut the tree to 12 to 15 inches. Choose 3 or 4 primary limbs to train in a fan shape, then simply remove everything that doesn’t grow flat. Selectively thin and train what’s left to space the fruiting wood. Don’t let the pruning decisions inhibit you or slow you down. There are always multiple acceptable decisions – no two people would prune a tree exactly the same way. You learn to prune by pruning!
Know Your Nursery Professional
The concepts and techniques of Backyard Orchard Culture are learned and implemented year by year. An integral part of Backyard Orchard Culture is knowing your independent nursery professionals and consulting them when you have questions. They have experience growing in your specific region and can be reliable sources of knowledge.
Backyard Orchard Culture is the pride of accomplishment.
There is a definite sense of accomplishment in growing your own fruit, including new varieties of fruit that are unusually sweet and tasty. There is pleasure to be found in having fruit over a long season, and in sharing tree ripe fruit with others. These are the rewards of learning and experimenting with new cultural practices and techniques, and of becoming an accomplished backyard fruit grower.