PRUNING STANDARD FRUIT TREES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1208, 26 April 1895, Page 6

PRUNING STANDARD FRUIT TREES.

Standard fruit trees are oftsn unprnned for years, and allowed to attain a large size.; and when eventually they fail to fruit freely they are taken in hand and severely pruned, with the result that canker, worthless wood and few. fruits ensue. Too much pruning is more harmful than its total omission ; and in the case of large standard trees, it is well to proceed carefully if they have been left to themselves for any length of time. It is useless to head down old trees, and cut out as much wood in one year as would have been taken out in 15 or 20 years if proper thinning and the removal of useless wood had taken place. I am not an advocate for the let-alone system ; but in the case of standard trees, it is useless to cut severely whilst allowing the roots to have full play, the result being a forest of leafy shoots which do not ripen, and are too weak to produce fruit. I once had an orchard of trees which were of good age, and before I took charge of them they had been topped, and in some cases 10 to 15 feet of wood had been cub away. The trees presented a shaven appearance, similar to those beheaded for grafting ; bub, as the varieties were good, I came to tho conclusion that this severe pruning was intended to promote fruitfulness, the trees having become so crowded that strong measures were needed. There was a poor prospect of fruit for some time, and every prospect of canker. I allowed the trees to grow freely for a couple of years, not using the knife until the third season.

I then merely cufc out the weak shoots sparingly, and left the strong ones at their full length, and these bore nice fruits. By this time the balance of wood had been rectified, and the roots having more work to do, fruit-buds formed freely. By this severe cutting four seasons had been wasted, and, if the knife had been used every season afterwards, canker would have obtained the mastery at once. Even though the young growths to a certain extent prevented collapse, a check was given the trees from which they never recovered, as when I saw them a short time ago some had been removed owing to canker. Some varieties will not stand such treatment, no matter how well'treated afterwards. This brings me to my note on pruning, and the gist of the matter is this—avoid severe cutting at one operation. Pyramid trees which have been cut yearly, when given a year or two's grace, have given as much fruit in one year as in a dozen when severely cut and kept in shape. It is necessary to cut in some cases, but in many others thinning would be much better, and the main or upright shoots allowed to make « longer growth. Where it is necessary to confine fruit ti*«es to a certain space far more good would be accomplished by summer-pruning and by encouraging surfacs roots in preference to gross downward roots. In the case of orchard trees having a mass of tangled growth, I would do the work carefully, and take a number of years in removing euch wood, which is far better than half killing the trees at one stroke. The appearance of the trees may not be equal to those where stronger measures have been taken, but the crop will be superior, and the fruits produced will be of good market value. Instead of a crop of small worthless fruit once in a few years, there will in most seasons be regular crops and clean, healthy trees.—G. Wythes, in the Gardeners 1 Chronicle.