Massive sap flow makes pruning the walnut tree a horticultural tightrope walk. In any case, a fruit tree pruning to increase the yield of a walnut is not worth the effort. Gardeners only use pruning shears to regulate a sprawling crown. These instructions explain the right cut at the ideal time.
Nut trees should only be pruned in extreme emergencies
The best time to cut is in autumn
Spacious crown expansion is the most common reason to cut a walnut tree. A massive sap pouring from cuts causes headaches. The problem is familiar to many hobby gardeners from the popular maple tree.
A bleeding walnut will lose its terror if you prune it in the fall. From the beginning of October to mid-November, the sap flow falls to its annual low, so that there is no need to fear any significant rivulets from open bodies of wood.
Cut walnut every 5 to 10 years
If you cannot give your walnut unlimited space, you should regulate the crown expansion regularly. By pruning the branches at 5 to 10 year intervals, you avoid radical growth interventions like a rejuvenating pruning. How to cut correctly:
- At the beginning, thin out dead, frozen and unfavorable branches
- Cut off thin shoots on the astring
- Cut shoots from 5 cm in diameter back to 10 to 20 cm long cones
- Overhanging, too long and broom-like branches lead to an internal side branch
- Remove steeply uphill competitors to the center or leading branch
You can mitigate the disadvantages of larger cuts by cutting the affected branches back to cones. This special cut prevents drying back into the deep wood and promotes new growth. Young shoots then sprout from the cones in all directions. Pick one or two promising branches. Remove excess shoots together with the dried cone remains next autumn or the one after that.
Remove wild shoots promptly
The long time intervals of up to 10 years do not imply that a walnut tree is not cut at all in the meantime. The focus is on refined varieties, which are composed of black walnut as a wild base and a weaker growing crown.
The rootstock in the form of wild shoots demonstrates its vigorous growth. These sprout directly from the rootstock or trunk. With rapid growth of up to 50 centimeters a year, the wildlings strive to overgrow the crown of the noble walnut tree. This brazen activity is prevented by promptly removing a wild instinct.
Cut off stem shoots vertically just before the bark. Tear off shoots from the root disk. This procedure has the advantage that you remove most of the tissue and effectively prevent renewed wild growth.
tips
Before cutting away a competitive drive on the center drive, weigh a more promising option. You can transform steep shoots in a favorable position within the crown into valuable fruit wood. To do this, tie the vertical shoot down at an angle of about 45°. Growth calms down and your walnut tree finds time to form blossoms and nuts at this point.