SUMMER PRUNING

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22320, 18 January 1936, Page 8 (Supplement)

SUMMER PRUNING

HARDY FRUIT TREES / _____ The summer pruning or " pinching " of hardy fruit trees and hushes, is of much practical importance, especially in small gardens where space is limited. In many gardens it receives as close attention as the winter .pruning.

Summer pinching consists of the shortening with the fingers and thumb

all lateral shoots not required for extension purposes, to about fivo or six fully-developed leaves, in order to induce fruit buds to form near tho base of each shortened shoot. The removal of tho extremities of these shoots will usually result in the breaking into growth of the bud or buds at the top of the shortened part. In so doing they form a useful purpose by acting as safety valves, using up the superfluous energy of the tree while the basal buds are being plumped up and stimulated. Formation ol Fruit Spurs At the winter pruning the shoots pinched back in the first instance are shortened back to three, or at the most four buds. These will form the foundation of what will ultimately become fruit spurs. Summer pinching is of the greatest value in the case of small fruits, such as the gooseberries and red currants. Black currants are best doalt with by cutting out the old growths as soon as tho fruit is removed. When the bushes are in full leaf in summer the grower has a better idea of tho reduction that is necessary for tho admission of light and air to tho fruit. Where this form of pinching was not carried out last month, tho shoots will by now have become hard and woody, and difficult to remove by means of the finger and thumb; resort must therefore be made to the use of the knife or secateurs, and the operation becomes that of summer pruning. Various Factors No definite date can be given as to the proper time for tho operation, as there are several factors to be taken into consideration, including the kind of tree or bush to bo dealt with, the soil, the locality and, above all, the rainfall. In a normal season the operation should not be carried out too drastically before the middle of January. Some judgment should, therefore, be exercised by the operator. Do not Jet pruning be done so early or so drastically that it will cause the buds on the shortened shoot to break into growth, nor so late that the growth for the season is practically finished, and no time is left for the buds at the base to plump up. Some varieties of pears, and not a few apples develop plump fruit buds at tho tips of the current season's growth. So long as these do not exceed nine inches in length, tho summer pruning may be dispensed with. In the case of gooseberries and red and white currants, whether grown as trained specimens or in the open, the side shoots should now be pruned to within two inches of their point of origin, a few well-situated shoots being retained in bush-trained gooseberries to take the place of the worn out growths removed at the winter pruning.