Garden

How and when to prune a peach tree

Each gardener with experience, without fail, pruning fruit trees, knowing the whole necessity of this procedure. The formation of crowns in peaches is no exception, so that you can significantly increase the amount of yield and improve the nutritional properties of fruits. How to do the correct pruning of this stone fruit and in what season of the year is detailed in the review.

Do I need to trim peach

Although pruning is considered painstaking work, it plays a very important role in the future care of peach trees and is carried out in order to:
remove all dry, diseased and damaged shoots;
provide the fruits with a sufficient amount of light and sun;
save trees from overloading with extra branches;
improve the quality and size of peaches on the tree;
extend the life of trees.

Important! Any pruning is carried out on the basis of 2 principles - thinning and shortening.

Crop Types

There are several types of peach crown circumcision, each of which plays its important role and is carried out in a specific period of the year.

Formative

Forming pruning begins from the 2nd year and ends at the 5th year of the tree's life.

It is held in the spring in order to:

give the crown of peach the necessary shape;
cut dry and frozen branches after wintering;
adjust the height of the tree;
remove interfering shoots;
regulate the crop.

Find out also when and how to plant a peach.

Anti-aging

The purpose of summer anti-aging pruning is:

removal of weak and dry branches that went unnoticed during crown creation;
thinning of branches that do not give fruit;
cutting out all shoots growing inside the crown;
shortening of fruitful branches, which are very heavily covered with ovaries, so that they do not break from heaviness during ripening.

Recovery

In the fall, restoration pruning is carried out, the essence of which is to prepare the tree for wintering.

It consists of the following functions:

remove all diseased, dry and damaged branches;
fruitful and frame branches must be shortened;
leave no more than 80 branches;
in order to avoid infection of the plant with any disease, all cut branches need to be burned.

Regulatory

Regulating pruning can be done in any season.

It is done in pursuit of such tasks:

balance tree growth and fruiting;
remove thick shoots that do not give fruit;
shorten the branches on which a large number of fruits have formed.

Did you know? In Hungary, a peach is called a “fruit of peace” because it contains substances that help relieve anxiety and improve mood.

Features and timing of trimming in different seasons

In order for the peach tree to grow correctly, bear fruit and not hurt, it must be pruned from the first years of life. Be sure to trim the seedling when planting, which must be done very carefully and not cut a large number of branches, because this can destroy the plant.

Video: pruning a year old peach

Pruning an old peach is carried out in the case when the gardener incorrectly cleaned the tree or did not do it at all. It consists in removing large parts of the tree, so that it can rejuvenate and bear fruit for some more time.

In the spring

Spring pruning is recommended after bud swelling, before the flowers begin to bloom. Most often it falls from mid-March to mid-April (in the southern regions - in February), when the air temperature warms up to + 5 ° С.

Thanks to this procedure:
the correct crown is formed on the peach;
large and sweet fruits ripen;
the tree is rejuvenated, less likely to get sick, receives a sufficient amount of sun and light from all sides;
crop increases;
pests on the plant are destroyed.

In winter

Some gardeners prune trees in winter. At this time, it is more convenient to determine what damage the plant has received and how thick the crown is. Also, you can not remove branches at temperatures below -15 ° C, because of which the peach can not tolerate the winter procedure. Although dry and damaged branches need to be cut and do it without waiting for spring.

We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the basic rules for warming a peach tree for the winter.

Fall

Autumn pruning is carried out after harvesting, namely from September to mid-October. It is held in regions with warm climates and prepares trees for wintering. Experts advise cutting branches without hemp, grease the slices with garden putty or 3% solution of copper sulfate.

Summer

The summer procedure is carried out from mid-June to mid-July, during the formation of seeds in the fruits. Thanks to its implementation, the taste of peaches improves, the fruits ripen in large sizes, because as a result of eliminating excess shoots, nutrients are distributed to the fruiting branches and the quality of the crop improves.

Important! The peach tree grows very intensively, so it needs to thin out the crown annually, avoiding its thickening.

How to do clippings

Experienced specialists recommend that when cutting, leave branches growing at an angle of 45 °. Shortening them, you need to leave at least 2 kidneys on each. Branches older than 4 years without fail to cut. These and other nuances are the key to the development of peach and good fruiting.

Instruments

The standard set of garden tools necessary for peach pruning behavior consists of:

secateurs;
delimbers;
a garden knife;
garden saw;
garden putty.

All tools must be sharpened, sanitized, and wiped dry before starting work. Places of cuts must be covered with garden putty.

Cropping pattern

Depending on the region in which the tree grows, the formation of the crown differs significantly. For example, a cup-shaped crown is made in warm regions, such as the Krasnodar Territory, Rostov-on-Don.

Crown in the form of a column and freely growing practice in the southern regions. In areas with a temperate climate, peach is grown in the form of a bush, and in cold areas they make creeping forms of two skeletal branches for shelter.

The pruning scheme for a young peach consists in the following manipulations:

In the 1st year of life, the tree is shortened at a height of 60 cm.
Skeletal branches of the 1st tier are formed from lateral shoots. Cut ends to the third kidney.
In the 2nd year, all shoots are removed, except for 4 skeletal 1st tiers, which are cut at the same level below the stem. The cut should be done near the outer kidney.
On the 3-year-old peach, the lower branches of the 2nd tier are formed. They should be located 50 cm above the 1st tier. The strongest shoots are chosen, the rest are removed.
At 4 years of life, the upper branches of the 2nd tier are laid. They should grow on the back of the lower shoots. They are shortened to 5-8 kidneys, thinned out at a distance of 15 cm from each other. Thus, the formation of the 2nd tier of 5 skeletal branches will begin.
All branches are cut to 1/3.
By the year 5, a tree has already formed with two tiers of branches and a height of up to 3 m.
To form a peach in the form of a bush, you need to remove the main trunk, leaving 4 lower branches.
For the creeping form, the main shoot is cut off and 2 branches are left. On one branch, the crop ripens, the other is a reserve and is used in case of freezing of the first. The next year, the branches are reversed.
After the 5th year, the peach crown has already been formed. An adult tree needs only anti-aging, regulatory and sanitary pruning.

Video: Four-year-old Peach Pruning

Further care

Peach is very sensitive to the removal of shoots, so it is necessary to treat each cut (wound) with garden putty or other means. In addition, plant care includes preventive treatment with a 3% solution of copper sulfate or 1% solution of Bordeaux fluid from the occurrence of fungal infections, abundant watering and fertilizing with fertilizers, loosening the soil and weed control.

Did you know? The birthplace of peach is China, in which the fruit symbolizes immortality and longevity.

What will happen if you do not do the procedure

Any fruit tree, including peach, needs regular pruning.

If you do not, then:
the plant will be too thickened and weak;
the fruits will ripen in large numbers, small in size and unsweetened (because there will not be sufficient access to the sun);
various diseases and pests will develop on the tree, as a result of which it can die;
tree lifespan will be significantly reduced.

Given all of the above tips and arguments in favor of peach pruning, it follows that this event must be done continuously. It provides the development and growth of stone fruit culture, improves the quantity and quality of the crop, and guarantees the annual collection of delicious and sweet fruits.