PLUM TREES

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 256, 26 July 1935, Page 18

PLUM TREES

Care in Pruning

Many gowers fail to obtain good crops of plums by pruning excessively, with the idea of keeping the growth shapely, and often try to train the trees into unsuitable forms. The most profitable method of growing plum trees is to plant them as standards and only by necessity, or through lack of space, should they be planted against low walls or fences, where constant pruning is necessary to keep them within bounds, for it is the annual cutting away from the top which upsets the tree from a fruiting point of view. The more a plum tree is cut the more it will continue to grow, and at the expense of blossom all the time.

If these facts are kept in mind, and one has ordinary good soil to contend with, there is nothing to worry about, for the trees will bear fruit in due course if left pretty much to themselves. For two years or so after planting a good standard tree, the main growths should be cut halfway back; after then the less pruning the better it will be.

When planting plum trees it should be kept in mind that where soil is known to be deficient in lime success must be doubtful. Old mortar rubble is the ideal lime-imparting material to soil; failing this, air-slaked lime may be added care being taken to place it above and below the roots, not against them.