Winter Pruning of Fruit Trees

  WINTER PRUNING FRUIT TREES AND BUSHES

 The dormant season from November to March is the perfect time to tackle the winter pruning with   pruning saw, loppers and secateurs. Other garden tasks have been put on hold while we wait on better weather once all the snow melts, but pruning is mostly above ground level so deep snow and frost are no obstacle as long as you have warm clothing and the promise of some hot pumpkin or beetroot soup once the job is complete.

Pruning fruit trees and bushes has always been seen as a skill beyond most amateur gardeners and only acquired after good training and years of practice. Even in professional circles I have found great gardeners who never did break down the mystery of pruning. One expert propagator highly regarded for his skills in raising plants never got his gooseberry bushes to bear any fruit.

In reality the principles of pruning are similar for all fruit production although each type has its own needs.

I try to keep my pruning very simple and may not follow the book. I leave that to those undergoing training, who have to follow the Royal Horticultural Society precise methods so they understand the principles and get through their exams.

Then there is the commercial growers who wish to produce quality fruit with high yields, but with the minimum of labour input and aimed at producing trees that can all be picked from the ground.

My methods combine RHS principles applied with a simplified version of commercial practice.

My first aim is to produce a strong well shaped tree or bush, then prune lightly to encourage a balance of fruiting wood and replacement shoots. These must be well spaced to allow light into the tree to ripen up young wood so it can initiate fruit buds.

Pruning also removes weak growth, diseased shoots, crossing branches, branches broken with heavy crops or just too near the ground.

Apples and Pears

 

Pruning method varies depending on whether the trees are bush, cordon, espalier, stepover or fan trained. All of these can be spur pruned by summer and winter pruning. Cut back all side shoots to five or six leaves in mid summer, then again back to two buds in winter to encourage formation of fruiting spurs. In time reduce the size of these spurs otherwise you may get too many fruits at the expense of size.

Leading main shoots are reduced by a third in winter.

My apple and pears are grown as bushes so I do not spur prune them. I carry out replacement pruning of fruiting branches which have got too old and bent down with heavy cropping. This is done with loppers and saw, not secateurs, and I always look for a young shoot to replace the branch being removed.

If the tree becomes too vigorous, I do not feed in spring, but at the end of August. This feed is too late to encourage fresh growth so the tree uses it to build up fruit buds. Late pruning once spring growth has just started will also help to curb an over vigorous tree.

Plums

These are always pruned in summer to minimize the risk of Silver leaf disease. The spores of this disease are around from late autumn to late spring and could penetrate any cut surface.

Form a well balanced tree with five or six main branches in the early years. Plums tend to crop heavy and pull limbs down, so replacement pruning is perfect for them. There is usually plenty of young shoots to replace any limbs removed. Replacement pruning is carried out as required and not necessarily every year.

Peaches

These are usually fan trained against a warm south facing wall or fence, so pruning is carried out to keep the tree in this shape, and allow ample sunlight onto the ripening fruit. Fans have four main branches on each side. These are constantly being replaced by young shoots that are allowed to grow for one year producing new fruit buds that overwinter to make the following years crop. To allow sunlight into the centre of the tree remove all unfruitful shoots in late winter and during summer prune out weak growth, upright shoots and any showing signs of disease. Remove some foliage around the fruit in summer to help colour up the fruit.

Raspberries

Summer fruiting types fruit on canes produced the previous year. These are removed after cropping or in winter and the new shoots tied in. If the variety produces a lot of canes thin these out so that canes are spaced out at four inches apart tied along the top wire with a running knot.

Autumn fruiting types are cut down to ground level every winter as they fruit on new canes.

Blackberry (Bramble)

These are similar to summer fruiting rasps but the canes grow a lot bigger so have to be tied in to a wire framework where they are looped up and down to save space. Train the new canes up the centre and above the fruiting canes to keep them out of the way.

Tayberry and Loganberry is pruned the same way.

Blackcurrants

Immediately after planting cut the new bush down to a couple of buds on each shoot. These prunings can be used as hardwood cuttings to grow into more bushes. Blackcurrants fruit on one year old shoots and older wood. Prune after fruiting or in winter by cutting some older branches down to ground level or to a young shoot coming from near the base. Aim to replace all growth over about four or five years.

Red and White currants

These can be grown as a bush or a cordon as they fruit best on spurs. Allow the bush to form an open centre with about six main shoots. In early summer cut all side shoots to about six inches then in winter further reduce these to two buds. After a few years start to replace one or two main shoots every year with new young shoots.

Gooseberries

These fruit very easily as long as bullfinches don’t go pecking out the buds in spring. Pruning is mainly to make picking easier, so keep the centre open and also remove any low trailing shoots otherwise soil could splash the fruits. Remove any crossing shoots and overcrowded areas.

Saskatoons and Blueberries

Saskatoon  fruit bushes produce berries on all wood, so pruning is only carried out after several years to keep the plant down to an easy height for picking. Every year remove a branch down to ground level to encourage new sucker growth to keep the bushes young.

Blueberries also require little pruning for the first few years as they are quite slow growing. In later years cut some older branches down to younger shoots coming from the base or lower down the plant to rejuvenate the bush.

Grape vines

In Scotland these are either grown under glass or on a sheltered south facing warm wall. Under glass grow them on single upright rods spaced about eighteen inches apart and in winter cut every shoot back to one or two buds of the main rod. Shoots emerge from these spurs and form small fruit bunches. Allow these to grow then prune them to two leaves after the bunch. Then for the rest of the growing period cut all other growths to one leaf. In early autumn thin out more shoots and leaves to let sunshine ripen the fruit. Pruning wall trained vines outdoors is just the same, though grow them on a well spaced framework of main branches rather than rods.

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Orchids

  ORCHIDS AT HOME

 Orchids came to Britain over a hundred years ago as plant explorers brought back new exotic plants from every continent to grow in Britain. They were very rare at first and difficult to grow but demand was huge as having orchids became a status symbol of the wealthy.  Collectors went in search of new orchids as imported plants could be auctioned for very high prices as orchidmania swept the country.

In my training years, orchids were quite rare as no-one had any and I did not know anyone who had them. I could only read about them in magazines and gardening books.

My first sight of an orchid was on a camping trip in the sixties up Glen Nevis. I saw this very unusual small flower spike at the side of the footpath. The plant had yellow spotted leaves just like I had seen in books. I was quite excited at discovering my first orchid, and although it may not have been very exotic, it was growing wild in Scotland. Further up the glen I was amazed to find more of them growing in massive drifts all over the place. Fortunately I had my Kodak Brownie with this new colour film so I could record my find.

Many years later while working in Livingston I found that wild orchids are quite common and enjoy boggy land in areas of high rainfall. A lot of Livingston was built on peat boglands. I had been asked to estimate a price for weed control around this new factory where weeds had started to encroach into the paved areas. I couldn’t believe what I found, as it was my spotted orchid trying hard to survive after someone had planted an industrial estate on its natural habitat. There were hundreds of them, and all in full flower. It was a beautiful sight, though soon to be very short lived. A team of men in white suits and face masks arrived with sprayers as nothing could stop progress.

Have they no soul!!!

Today the mystery of orchids has somewhat disappeared as easy to grow types, e.g. phalaenopsis and Cymbidiums are now available in every garden centre and books abound with stories and growing instructions for the beginner.

Habitat

Orchids grow in almost every country around the world so there is tremendous variety. Breeders can enhance species and hybrids to produce plants suited to domestic cultivation and environments.

There are many types native to UK, though these grow in the ground preferring damp areas and boggy ground though they often grow on banks above wet areas so the roots are not in standing water. These types are known as terrestrial but the common ones we see flowering in garden centres are mostly epiphytic in origin.

These do not grow in soil, but cling to tree trunks and branches in tropical forests where there is high humidity. They have clinging roots which hold the plant in place and aerial roots which hang below the plant and absorb moisture from the air as the root surface has a blotting paper ability.

They do not draw on their host plant for nutrients but are happy with nutrients washed down in bird droppings, rainwater with atmospheric nitrogen and small amounts of leafmould produced by natural falling leaves.

The woodland canopy, mostly evergreen, affords dappled light and protection from strong sunlight. As orchids come from all over the world there are those that are happy with our temperatures and others that need a bit more warmth.

Culture

When you purchase your first orchid I would always recommend starting with one of the easier ones such as the Phalaenopsis which are usually quite reliable and very rewarding when it repeats the flowering every year. They will come in pots with ample holes for drainage and planted in special orchid compost. This is often a mixture of bark chips, coarse graded peat, charcoal to keep the mixture sweet, nutrients and trace elements. This should be sufficient to keep the plant happy for two to four years before repotting is necessary depending on type. It is best to repot in spring as growth commences.

Plants can continue in flower for a few weeks, then occasionally some may send up another flower spike from lower down on the existing spike. Once flowering is over allow the plant some dormancy. Keep it in a cooler spot, and water less often, but do not let it dry out. Do not feed at this stage or repot. Never leave the plant in standing water as they all require free draining compost.

Place the plants in a well lit room, but out of any direct sunlight. I have a strong white phalaenopsis that just loves our bright bathroom where daily showers provide it with high humidity. If growing it in a living room, give the occasional light spray to the leaves and wipe off any dust.

Orchids are not heavy feeders so just give them an orchid feed once every two to four weeks while they are growing.

Orchids have thick leathery leaves that are not too troubled with pests or diseases.

Propagation

It is often easier to buy new plants rather than propagate from an existing plant. Commercially many orchids are produced by specialist growers using meristem culture producing many plants in selected clones.

Orchids may grow as a single stem from a rhizome and sometimes produce basal offshoots that can be separated for growing on once they have produced their own roots. Others that produce many pseudobulbs, or swollen stems, or just many flat stems may be split up and repotted. Sometimes it is difficult to get them out of their pots as the roots cling onto the insides of the pot. Before potting up, remove any broken, diseased or dead roots, and make sure there is plenty of drainage in the bottom of the pot before adding orchid compost. Repot into the nearest size for the plant as they prefer to be rootbound before they settle down to flower. Do not put the aerial roots into the pot when potting up.

Although orchids may produce seed, it is not easy to grow as each type requires a symbiotic relationship with its own species of mycorrhiza. Breeders use a special growth medium in sterile flasks for their seeds then bulk up using meristem culture.

Phalaenopsis

These have been extensively bred and crossed and are now available in many colours. Although they are fairly easy to grow they enjoy plenty of warmth and in winter can take direct sunlight for a few months, but keep them shaded from spring onwards.

They can flower most of the year with six or up to twenty or more flowers on one spike. Keep the stem staked otherwise it hangs over and could pull over the whole plant. They are very popular as cut flower in North America.

Cymbidiums

Cymbidiums are very popular and another good one to start with as they are very adaptable. They flower in autumn to spring producing many spikes with up to twenty flowers each lasting up to ten weeks. The plants can grow quite large and are happy in a cool room. They require more frequent repotting because of their strong growth. Again, these are excellent for long lasting cut flower.

Paphiopedilums

These orchids are terrestrial, not epiphytic so there are no aerial roots or pseudobulbs. They grow from rhizomes just below ground level and produce medium sized flower stems with just one or a few flowers. They like to be kept lightly shaded. Propagate by division in spring and repot every second year in the smallest pot available.

Cattleyas

These epiphytes are very flamboyant with large colourful flowers which are often highly perfumed.

There are many orchid societies throughout Scotland and the UK and every year the World Orchid Congress puts on a fantastic show. This year it is in Singapore on 14 to 23 November 2011.

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A Year to Remember

 A DIFFICULT YEAR ENDS

 Looking back over 2010 I have to admit it has been an uphill struggle for many garden plants.

The year started with a winter to remember as we had not really had a decent winter for many years previous. As a painter of Scottish landscapes specializing in winter scenes I was always looking out for a good snow scene. Often I would rush out with my camera to capture as much as possible before it all melted by mid afternoon. Last winter there was so much snow that access to outdoor landscapes was severely limited due to blocked roads.

Back in the garden the early snowdrops were getting used to flowering in early February, but not this year. They were loath to appear by March, then there was a rush as crocus, aconites and Hellebores all came out together.

The low temperatures really gave many plants a fright. Outdoor fuchsias all died except Mrs Popple, Hebe’s died, Lithospermum Red Damask did not survive and my mature thirty foot tall Eucalyptus lost half of its leaves. I had a strong date palm in a flower bed near a warm south facing wall, but it died back to ground level.

On the plus side my outdoor Peach was very late in flowering, much so it missed any late frosts. It produced plenty of pink flowers which kept me busy each day pollinating them with my best watercolour sable brush. I got twelve very large fruits of a very high quality in mid summer.

A Wet Summer

Many Scots might feel a wee bit of global warming could improve our climate. The garden would be bursting with colour and fresh succulent fruit and vegetables.

If the temperatures are a little bit warmer, I can’t say it has been very noticeable this year as the continual rain has dampened down any beneficial effects. I am now looking back as we are well and truly locked into another severe winter weather period. If this is global warming, why is the cold weather breaking all previous records?  Will Fuchsia Mrs Popple survive into 2011 ?

Plants are very adaptable. My flower bed of geraniums took every opportunity each time we had a few days of sunshine in between the deluges to give a fantastic display of bright colour. Begonias were late but very dependable, especially those put into tubs. Gladioli, chrysanthemums and roses all put on great displays, but roses suffered from black spot, rust and mildew late in the season.

Soft Fruit Crops

Following the very hot summer of 2006 we have suffered four very wet years. My normally very dependable raspberry Glen Ample got infected by a root rot which I suspect was a strain of Phytophthora. Over three years the canes slowly died out and no fresh canes emerged. My allotment garden is on a slope and immediately south of my rasps other fruit bushes began to go yellow and die. These included a white currant, a gooseberry, two  Saskatoons and some cultivated blueberries I had been experimenting with. My autumn fruited raspberry, Autumn Bliss was unaffected and still produced a normal crop. However with so much rain and lack of sunshine the fruits were not as sweet as normal.

The Glen Ample was replaced with another raspberry called Cascade Delight. This is a summer fruiting variety bred at Washington State University and showing some tolerance to phytophthora root rot. It has large fruit with an excellent flavour, which I hope to sample next year.

The cool wet summer also delayed ripening of my Saskatoon fruit which cropped for over three weeks, whereas in the previous year they only lasted one week.

Strawberries were badly affected by botrytis rotting the fruits. Modern varieties have resistance built into the plant, but this was an exceptionally wet year. I had replaced my perpetual strawberry variety Flamenco with a new one called Malling Opal. It has not been happy with our wet season and I will see if it fairs better next year. Perpetuals fruit all summer long so it is nice to have fruit into late autumn, but it is difficult to propagate this variety as they do not produce many runners. Flamenco did produce ample runners and these produced fruit immediately.

Both blackcurrants and red currants cropped very heavily this year so no change for them next year.

Saskatoon fruit ripened over a far longer period but the quality was still very good I may do a wee bit pruning, taking one or two main shoots down to ground level to encourage fresh new shoots which will fruit for the next five years.

Goji berry plant is still growing but no sign of any flowers or fruits. Maybe next year.

Outdoor trials of grape varieties have not been successful. They did produce bunches of grapes, but they just would not ripen in our wet year. I will try another variety called Solaris for next year.

However my outdoor variety Brant was exceptional. The bunches are small, but quality is great with over one hundred bunches of sweet black juicy grapes.

I have persisted with our local Bramble Loch Ness, but it is hopeless in our wet years, so it got grubbed out. The fruit was small, tasteless and very prone to botrytis. My other bramble Helen which fruits in August is still hard to beat.

Top Fruits

Pears were a disaster this year. Comice may be a fantastic pear when conditions are right, but it is so prone to scab in a wet year that I cannot recommend it unless our climate takes a turn towards a drier regime. I was very impressed with the variety Beurre Hardy which I got at Glendoick Garden Centre Apple Weekend last October. I kept the fruit for two weeks when it ripened beautifully. This variety is quite strong and resists scab infections. Conference is also very good and scab tolerant, but it is very hard to get anything to compete with Comice.  Some Comice will get grafted with another variety next year.

I worried about my plum tree as although it flowered very late the cold weather had reduced the insect population drastically and I only ever saw two bees on the tree throughout its flowering period. However they done a great job and the tree developed a full crop. Normally I would have been ecstatic as a fully ripe Victoria plum is an absolute delight, but lack of sun and too much rain resulted in a soggy fruit lacking flavour and sweetness. A lot of the fruit got left on the tree.

Now the apple crop was very different as I no longer grow weak varieties prone to scab. The early variety Oslin gave too much crop as it does not store so has to be eaten when ripe.  Some shoots will get grafted next spring with another variety. Discovery and Red Devil were brilliant, but Red Falstaff has not stored well this year, so half of them are going out as winter food for our blackbirds.

I have always fancied growing sweet cherries and now that growers are using the new very dwarfing Gisela 5 rootstock it will be easy to net the tree from birds as it only grows to six feet or so. This one is on my lists for planting next year.

 Allotment vegetables

A mixed year depending on how tolerant plants were in a high rainfall year. Courgettes and pumpkins were excellent. No lanterns for us at Halloween, we need them for soup to last till next summer. I also save the seed every year as I have an excellent strain.

Onions were very poor with ripening up very difficult. Most other vegetable crops grew very well in our wet summer and now we still have excellent savoy cabbage Traviata, Sweet flavoured Brussels sprouts Wellington and plenty of Musselburgh Leeks. My beetroot still in the ground under a foot of snow is still perfect

The Greenhouse

There was just enough sun to ripen my grapes and my Black Hamburg has been very sweet. I look forward to 2011 and getting some grapes from my new white seedless vine Perlette.

Tomatoes ripened very late and quality was not up to usual standard, but maybe next year will be drier with more sun.

Plans are being considered to take a stand at both Gardening Scotland at Ingliston and the Dundee Flower and Food Festival next year as demand for my saskatoon plants and grape vines is still very strong.

Now let us get out that bottle of Glenfarclas and raise a toast in the hope that next year the laws of average will prevail and 2011 will be exceptionally warm and dry and my next packet of parsnip seeds will produce more than three plants.

Cheers !!!

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Festive Thoughts

FESTIVE THOUGHTS

The Christmas week was never a time to be thinking about jobs around the garden.  The mind is occupied with getting those last Christmas presents, stocking up with plenty of food and some quality liquid cheer. Selecting a nice wee dram is now a lot easier with excellent advice from Brian of Amber Lights on the previous page. Then of course there is the social side to organize as family and friends get together.

This year winter arrived very early, so there is a good chance for a white Christmas if it is still on any ones wish list.

The allotment

My allotment activities have been about capturing snow scenes with the camera for winter landscape paintings. I was instructed to bring back some leeks now that they have been sweetened up with a bit of cold weather, but I just could not find them under a drift of snow two feet deep. Hopefully by the time you read this there will have been a wee thaw and my leeks will appear.

However this year I tried Brussels sprouts variety, Wellington. They have been terrific with large hard buttons and very sweet to taste. Just a pity they are so tall as they were still visible above the drifting snow and an easy target for our ever present resident flock of hungry pigeons.

The severe winter weather was well predicted so it gave us ample opportunity to gather a couple of large savoy cabbage Traviata, some Swedes and beetroot.

I am hoping my beetroot will be quite happy with a couple of feet of snow protecting it from the frosts. After a few hours of continually clearing snow from the drive it is very welcoming to see a plate of hot home made beetroot soup on the dinner table. Our best recipe uses fresh beetroot roughly grated with some onion, garlic, carrot and a potato. It is cooked with chicken stock, olive oil and some sugar, then served with a swirl of yoghurt or sour cream, and some lightly toasted garlic bread. It soon warms you up.

Outdoor plants

The deep snow has buried my coloured stemmed border, but the yellow winter Jasmine continues to flower through frost and snow. Christmas rose, Hellebores are wanting to flower, but are buried under deep snow.

The golden berried rowan Sorbus Joseph Rock has been spectacular with large bunches of bright yellow berries topped with snow standing out against the clear blue winter sky. At first the black birds were not too fussy about eating them until a flock of twenty waxwings found them and within three days the berries were gone. These are winter migrants from Scandinavia who swarm here in huge numbers when their own supply of berries is finished. They love rowans, pyracantha, hawthorns   and cotoneasters and will quickly strip them in a short burst of frenzied eating.

Feed the birds

Birds and wildlife are just as much part of the garden’s attraction as plants and they are particularly welcome in winter when most of the garden is at rest. Every garden will have their own resident robin and blackie, but it is nice to see the range extended with a wren, blue tit, great tit, coal tit, chaffy and occasionally a greenfinch and bullfinch. The latter may be a very attractive bird, but he can be a proper vandal when he picks off flowers and buds in spring with no intention of eating them.

My bird feeders go out when I think their own natural food supply is getting hard to find. This year frost and snow have come a bit early so birds go looking for some human help on bird tables. Fortunately there is a wide range of bird food available. I supplement this with some bread, old bramley apples from store that are not keeping too well, bacon fat and keep the bird bath replenished with fresh water.

Indoor plants

It has become a festive tradition to have a good colourful pot plant to decorate the living room during the Christmas period.

Poinsettias are very popular, easy to grow and will be quite long lasting as long as you don’t over water them. Give them plenty light, keep them warm but not near radiators. In its natural environment it will grow into a small tree, but for the house plant trade they are kept young and treated with growth retardants so you receive a compact plant full of coloured bracts. Thus once they are finished it is not worth keeping them for another year unless you are happy with a taller plant and are prepared to give them special growing conditions.

Once the coloured bracts are finished, adopt a drier water regime to encourage dormancy to give the plant a rest. Restart growth in late spring, repot if necessary with good free draining compost, and cut back the plant to a few inches. Once growth starts give a fortnightly feed and in summer grow the plant outdoors in a sunny spot. Keep growths pinched back to allow up to five shoots per plant and cut back any shoot that gets too big. Poinsettias require short day treatment to bring them into flower.

Thus from early October for the next ten weeks they will need to be kept in the dark for at least fourteen hours every day. Black them out from 5pm to 8am. Once the bracts begin to show colour bring them gradually into the light and continue to water and feed.

Christmas cactus is also a favourite that I find very reliable and quite easy, but again it has its needs. They come in a range of colours from red, pink, mauve and white. Mine have now finished their flowering so they will be allowed to go quite dry but not shriveled and kept in a light cool but frost free spot. They can be cut back at this time and the cuttings used to grow more plants. Once growth starts in summer restart watering and feeding to encourage growth. However this growth needs to ripen to encourage flower buds so I start to dry them off again in September. This helps to initiate flower buds which will appear in early winter. As soon as the flowers show, usually in November,  restart watering and bring them into the warmth.

The plants should last for very many years, and often they will provide two shows per year.

Last of the grapes

Although 2010 will go down in my diary as yet again another very wet year, there was enough sunshine to ripen up most of my grape vines. I have three varieties in the greenhouse and a very large outdoor vine, Vitis vinifera Brant covering a west and a south facing walls.

My earliest variety, Flame is in the cold greenhouse. It is a red seedless grape which has some fruit   ready at the end of August and continues till the end of October. It is very sweet and juicy but as with all seedless varieties some of the grapes can be small. It is the grape seeds that produce the growth hormones needed to swell up the fruit. Commercially, growers solve this problem by applying several sprays of gibberellic acid growth hormone. The first spray in spring causes the bunches to grow bigger thus spacing out the trusses with less overcrowding. The next spray at flowering causes some of the flowers to fall off reducing the need for thinning. Further sprays later on encourage berry growth so the end product is large seedless grapes well spaced out so they will not be troubled by diseases.

My organically grown, gibberellic acid free grapes, may be smaller, but they are still delicious.

I planted a white seedless variety called Perlette last winter so hopefully it will fruit in 2011.

My Black Hamburg greenhouse grape starts to fruit in mid September and I have now just finished off the last of then in early December. These have seeds so each grape is quite large and sweet and very juicy. It is easy to grow and is very reliable.

The outdoor Brant fruits from September to mid October, but our local Blackie is quite fond of them so as soon as I see a bit of damage they get harvested and made into juice. This will keep for two weeks in the fridge but can also be frozen in plastic bottles. The grapes are quite sweet so the juice does not need sugar.

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