Grow More Fruit By Knowing When & Why To Prune Your Stone Fruit Trees
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.พ. 2023
- I love fruit trees. I've also managed to kill a few on accident.
We have a thriving orchard, but it wasn't always that way. Since this isn't my area of expertise, I'm really excited to bring in Craig from Yard To Table (yardtotablecreations.com/) to come in and talk about proper fruit tree care.
0:30 Meet Craig
Craig is a chef, and he really got interested in growing his own food. He maintains dozens of gardens and orchards around San Diego County, and he's a great source of knowledge.
2:00 When & Why To Prune
For deciduous trees, you want to prune when the tree is losing its leaves and is asleep. There is no growth hormone during this time, so it's storing up energy down in the roots to prepare to send out leaves for photosynthesizing in the spring.
For many varieties, fruit grows on new wood. That means you want to get rid of second-year branches but keep bud wood. That buds are immature flowers, and that is where you will get fruit from.
One great way to approach pruning is to take a step back and get ready to work your way up and from the inside out. We're looking for an open vase shape. This helps reduce crossing branches which can lead to problems. We also want to open up the plant for airflow and sunlight.
If you see branches growing below the graft, that's the rootstock growing. That means it's not the plant you want to grow, so get rid of those branches. If left unchecked, you can end up with the rootstock taking over and giving you nasty fruit.
This tree here is a 4 in 1 Fruit Salad with Peach, Nectarine, Plum, and Apricot all grafted onto the rootstock. It's a fun idea and saves space, but there are some issues too. One branch will tend to take over, and, even though they're all stone fruit, they still have different needs at different times.
These issues are less prominent with multi-graft fig trees. In general, I've had a lot of success with fig trees. They produce a ton and really don't need too much.
11:11 Time To Prune
Craig likes to start with the middle to open things up. After that, he's working his way up and going branch by branch. He's looking for branches to grow out (not too upright or lateral).
He's also looking for the general height and shape of the plant. He wraps up with the ornamental pruning.
It's important to note he uses a saw and shears to do all of this - NOT loppers which don't leave clean cuts on live wood. Cuts should be made as close to the other branches as possible. That gives the branch a new leader.
You may also do something called drop crotch pruning. That means you want to redirect a branch cut pruning it and leaving the offshoots that are going in the best direction.
Pro tip 1: never make more than 5 cuts in one place. You're going to make circles around the trees before you're done.
Pro tip 2: having clean tools is key. Craig prefers to use a torch because rubbing alcohol can lead to rust. Always clean before moving to another tree. For larger trees, you might want to clean in the middle too.
In just a few minutes, your tree is going to look totally different. It might be a shock at first, but it's for the best of the future of the tree. Try not to go too crazy, though!
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Thank you, this is one of the best pruning videos I’ve seen and exactly what I needed. Looking forward to the next video.
Thank you looking for to seeing more
Excellent video. I have serious pruning anxiety and this helped a lot!
My gosh, thank you! I learned a lot. Thank you so much for this video. Can’t wait for the next one.
Up here in Oceanside and loving your videos and seeds. Transforming our 1/4 acre lot to be home to most everything you talk about/sell.
Aaa Yes! Just what I needed. I am about to expand my fruit tree collection but my existing trees definitely need a prune. I have been putting off tackling my pomegranate. Thank you for the infor!
One of the best pruning lessons I’ve seen. Would love to know what type of torch to get.
I know you are talking about trees here, of which we have around 25, but I also need to know about wicking beds. We have 5 raised beds made out of railroad track logs. Next to that area are huge cypress. The roots of the cypress have invaded all the raised beds! Next step is to remove that soil and possibly putting in wicking beds. Being close to Temecula, CA. water is an issue. All the wicking bed solutions I’ve seen on TH-cams have not addressed the issue of substantial wood creating our raised beds. The solutions are involved and costly. Hummm… ideas?
Awesome details. Thank you
Thank you for sharing this! Also the best pruning video I have seen as well!
This was a great video. Thank you for sharing your time and knowledge. Nothing to complain about at all. ❤
This. I'm a few years in on our 9B residential "orchard" and had (still have) pruning anxiety. What should take
Excellent!!! 🎉
Just planted 2 apple and 1 peach this week. Thanks.
Thank you
So apricot is an exception to these rules? Is that because it grows on second year wood? Great video!! I've watched 4x and gleaned something different each time.
Thank you. I actually went out looking for fruit trees yesterday. I don’t have any right now and the thing that is holding me back is that I don’t know how to prune them. I want to keep them a manageable size since my back yard isn’t really big. I’m looking forward to seeing your next video on caring for trees. 😊
Dave wilson website may be helpful.
@@oceanbreezesuburbanfarm thank you. I will take a look.
My deciduous apple tree still has leaves on it. They never dropped.
Such GREAT info. Can you share the link for part 2? I can't find it ~ thank you so much!!
Part two: th-cam.com/video/gyG4FvqBFIw/w-d-xo.html
Related video: th-cam.com/video/zCic_DPwRko/w-d-xo.html
Here's the one about citrus trees too: th-cam.com/video/s6-Vk-Td9C8/w-d-xo.html
@@SanDiegoSeedCompany thank you so much for sharing all your knowledge 🌳🤗💚
This was so helpful. We have a 5 in 1 stone fruit tree and each year, a different fruit seems to excel. Plums were the first few years and then the last few have been the apricot branches. LOVE having so many fruits growing in our small back yard. Question: you said the pruning is done for the year, so, does that mean that you don’t do any pruning of runaway branches that shoot out higher or further than the rest later in the summer? Or do you just mean that the dormant pruning is done until next year?
Done with the vast majority of pruning until it's dormant again. You can do emergency pruning though. You can prune at any time, but it's going to send mixed messages to the tree
I’m starting to get blossoms, is it still ok to prune now?
I’m sorry, yes Stine fruit. Ok. I will thank you so much.
On a stone fruit? If it needs a prune, you should do it ASAP. Otherwise, you might be okay letting it grow
Any recommendation on which varieties of fig tree?
The kind you like the most! There are tons of options, and they're all easy. If you can, find some friends or neighbors with a tree to try 'em out
Is it too late to prune if I see the beginnings of little buds starting to develop on my peach tree?
It's too late to spray, but you should prune asap. Your tree is waking up!
It wasn’t clear when the name of the gentleman’s company was named. Would you clearly and slowly say it (and write it here?)
Yes, it's Craig from Yard To Table Creations - yardtotablecreations.com/
So what happens if you just leave it alone and let nature do it’s thing? I have yet to prune my queen nectarine tree and I have not gotten any fruit lol
Results may vary! Haha. Some trees will go wild, and others might struggle, and that can change from year to year. It depends on the conditions (soil, rain, etc.)
I have removed every multi budded fruit tree that I have planted, they never workout
Wish the neighbor dog would stop barking
Me too 🥴