Training Apple Trees For The Small Garden

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30169, 28 June 1963, Page 6

Training Apple Trees For The Small Garden

Many home gardeners who have limited garden spaee tend to leave fruit trees out at the garden, or to plant them in odd corners where they are subject to unfavourable conditions. Where space is limited, dwarfing rootstocks, as well as special methods of training can be used, and trees can be grown that take up little space. Instead of being restricted to one tree, or none at all, several can be grown, and they are easy to prune, accessible for picking and make spraying less difficult. One method of training is the cordon system which is under consideration in this article. A cordon consists of a single stem which is grown at an angle with fruit spurs along its entire length. They are grown at an angle to restrict growth and induce more even development of shoots along the main stem instead of being concentrated in the top few buds as is the case where the shoots are upright. Although single stemmed cordons are most common, double or triple ones are sometimes grown.

Support is necessity for the culture of cordons and this should be provided before planting takes place. It should consist of 3 parallel wires with 2ft between each wire guyed at both ends to concrete posts. These posts should be at Least 2ft in the ground and 6ft above it, and these wires need the support of struts. Lighter posts at lOfit to 12ft intervals are recommended. ■ Individual supporting rods of bamboo or sawn timber lin x Jin must be provided for each cordon. These should be secured to the wires at an angle of 45 degrees. The single-stemmed cordon should be planted as a maiden whip (this means a one-year-old single stemmed tree). Choose one of the dwarf rootstocks such as East Mailing IX, VII or IV, or the hew Mailing Marton 106. Plant at 2|ft to 3ft apart at an angle of 45 degrees and secure the stems to the individual supporting rods with soft string. Continue to tie subsequent apical growth to this rod as it forms Pruning

This is all important, for it is the pruning that is responsible for the training, formation and development of the cordon. No pruning is necessary with an unbranched whip at the time of planting. Subsequent side shoots formed in the growing season can be pruned back in January to 4 or 5 buds, but this is not essential. Pruning will really begin during the second winter follownng planting. Short laterals, up to 4 inches in length, should be left unpruned. Longer growths that are less than 9 inches should be left unpruned the first year, but |n the following winter shortened back to a suitable bud on the two year-old wood. Shoots longer than 9 inches can be tied in and down so that the tip is below the horizontal: this induces fruit bud formation, and shoots so treated can be cut back to these fruit buds the following year. Alternatively they can be cut back to 3 or 4 buds from the main stem.

As with all fruit trees, replacement of fruiting wood may become necessary and this can be induced by cutting some of the spurs hard back and selecting some of the new shoots formed. | The tip of the main-stem is not pruned until the top-

most wire has been reached. If, however, insufficient side shoots are being formed the main stem can be reduced by about one third of its length of new growth. This should induce stronger side growth development, as well as increasing the vigour of the leading shoot. On weaker varieties (wh’en grown on dwarfing stock) such as sturmer, it sometimes happens that they produce fruit buds on the terminal. Here, again, the tip should be cut back, by one to two inches