Summer Pruning Apple Fruit Trees - Cordons, Fans and Espaliers By Gino Hitshopi

Generally, it is best to prune fruit trees in winter, when they are dormant. This is certainly true of all the apple trees that you normally find in an orchard. As with all rules of gardening, however, there are exceptions. Restricted, son trained apple shapes, such as fans, cords and trellises need special treatment (the same for pears).

Unlike normal fruit trees, where you want them to grow large and beautiful, the whole point of a restricted form, it is still in its limited space. Summer pruning is an effective way to make this possible. In autumn, when a plant deciduous settled for the winter and begins to lose its leaves, it sends most of its nutrient-rich sap in its roots in a safe place. For the size of some new shoots in late summer, you are removing part of its "start-up fuel for the spring. Done correctly, this has the effect of curbing the growth of the tree without harming it at all. It is also good for fruit that are on the branches this year, because it allows more sunlight to reach and improves air circulation.

Note that you do not carry any size formative old wood so to remove only the soft new growth.

Choosing the right time to prune your trees Summer Apple needs a little attention. Typically, the second and third weeks of August are the best in the south and the end of August in the North (pears are made earlier). The most important thing to keep an eye on the basis of new shoots: they must be rigid and woody bark that forms on their bases along the first third of their length. When you embark on the size is what you should consider:

• Select all the lateral branches (those that come directly from the main stem) that are longer than 20cms. Cut them back to just above the third set of leaves above the base (where there is usually a cluster or rosette of leaves).

• Leave the side shoots that have less than 20cms alone.

• Sub-laterals are side shoots that develop on the lateral side shoots. Cut these back to just above a group of leaves above their base.

• Look out for side-shoots that grow strongly and vertically. They are trying to become the new star of the stem and, unless you want your bead to grow longer, they need to be removed entirely, because they divert energy form the branches where you want the fruit shape.

• Check if your plants / fruit trees as winter ends in late September, pinching off any new growth that has sprouted since you cut.

You may find that whatever you do, there are a lot of new growth after pruning - some varieties of apples are like that. To avoid this, here's a tip - choose two or three of the longest side laterals and do not prune at all until spring (when they should be reduced to a bud above the base).

Add this to divert energy away from the new growth around your cup.
As always, use pruning shears, Sharp and clean, if you make more of an apple, disinfected between each fruit trees. It is safer to burn, bury or dump the cuttings is to compost them, to reduce the risk of spreading diseases dormant.

Gino Hitshopi is very experienced in the field of fruit trees, especially apples, having worked with them for many years. For more information please visit: http://www.ashridgetrees.co.uk/SHOPPING-CATEGORIES/Apple-Trees-Fruit-Trees