It just seems that the garden almost does not cause troubles. In fact you need to take care of trees paying attention on such kind of things like protection against pests, shelter from frosts during cold days or the forming of the crown in correct way. This all is the reason why you have to do the process of pruning trees.
Pruning trees: What is winter trim used for?
Winter pruning positively affects the growth of the tree and subsequent fruiting during future periods. If you will be ignoring the process of the forming of the plant crown and if you will skip the process of cut off of the branches of the tree than some time later you will get small yields of small ugly fruits. And vice versa you will get large healthy fruits that will grow up on the right way circumcised branches. The other reason why the process of pruning the trees in winter is also more convenient that the trees stands without leaves during the winter season and everything is pretty much visible even the smallest twigs and it is much easier to find out those that grow in unsuccessful directions.
Terms of circumcision during the winter season
You can basically crop the trees almost during any time from late autumn till early spring. The main rule that it should happened before the beginning of sap flow. However the most favorable time for the pruning the garden is February. For the trees that have been cut from the autumn it is much harder to survive during the winter season. In addition to all of this not everywhere the weather are favorable for the successful pruning of tree branches. It is not recommended to cut the trees in temperature condition less than five degrees Celsius below zero because the wood becomes very fragile and the branches are too easily to damage when such temperature conditions met. Obviously the most convenient time to trim the trees is during the winter season particularly during the very end of February.
What is the right pruning technique?
It is more preferable to cut trees every year rather than very intensively every two or three years. The trees adjusted to the regular minor pruning are much easier to tolerate this procedure. Small plants need to be cut not too much but proportionally to their size that. The removal of not more than a third of branches and shoots per season is the maximum possible but still safe option for the tree pruning.
The pruning process depends on what kind of tree should be cut. It is highly recommended to leave strong central shoot and horizontal branches when you are doing pruning on apple trees. If the plant is old and the fruits on the lower branches are not getting enough sunlight than you need to cut off the top of the central shoot. The peach and apricot trees stretch upward and need to be cut more and with the removal of the upper part of the crown. If we are talking about berry bushes than it is important to completely remove all old branches.
The pruning of the garden should be done only with the help of only sharp tools. It is necessary to have the following tools such as secateurs, garden shears and garden hacksaw. The one thing about garden hacksaw is that it should be with a special blade the other usual household hacksaw is not suitable for such kind of work. Typically the cutting tool should be positioned towards the part of the branch that should remain. The tool should be positioned at the angle of approximately 45 degrees. The cut should be done almost next to the kidney and there is no need to leave the big hemp above it.
If there are any present dry and dead leaves and also diseased branches on the tree then the first thing to do is to remove them from the tree. It is very important to know that after working with diseased branches the instrument that was involved in the process should be disinfected and the branches themselves should be burned as they are dangerous for the garden. Although there should not be such kind of branches when it is the winter pruning. If you would like to be the attentive gardener then you should do sanitary pruning of trees immediately when the first signs of the disease appeared on the tree.
The next step is to remove completely the branches that grow inside the crown and down. In case if the branch is too thick and already has been broken during cutting then the procedure will have to be repeated and the branch should be cut off below the break point. Branches that grow vertically upward should be cut off at the branching point.
Thus there should remain only horizontal branches that grow outward. Those branches are the most promising for fruiting. Branches with shoots should be shortened about a quarter or at the most the third of the size.
The thin twigs growing in uncomfortable directions such as up, down or inside have to be in the last place of the removal process. Sections with the diameter of more than 2 centimeters must be treated with a special ointment the garden wax. Sometimes during the winter the wax does not lie down well due to low temperatures then the cut side can be greased with the paint on the basis of drying oil. There could appear numerous of small shoots near the cut that are extending upwards. They also have to be removed.
Pruning trees benefits
If you correctly performed pruning for the trees than it means the trees has the optimal form for the fruiting crown shape. If the tree is trimmed slightly than it will be stimulating the growth of new shoots. And if the branches of the tree are thinned with the right technique then more sunlight will get inside the crown of the tree. This will positively affects the ripening of the fruit. Finally the fruits will be more evenly distributed around the tree which will protect them from broken branches.
If we talk about the benefits of pruning during the winter then this is a convenience for the gardener first of all. The branches of the tree freeze in the winter and there is no need to waste effort to cut them. In addition to all of that the risk of the cortex damage is minimal these days. Also we would like to add that when you remove the bark along with the cut branches you also remove the parasites wintering under the bark. Gardeners are strongly recommended to spend some time for sanitary, firming and rejuvenating pruning during the winter season.
