In the cultivation of fruit trees everything revolves around the extraction of a high percentage of fruit wood. This guide has set itself the task of providing home gardeners with practical information about the importance of this central category of branches within the crown.

Young fruiting wood bears large and healthy fruit

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  1. Fruitwood - Definition
  2. When and where does fruitwood form in the crown? - Example apple tree
  3. Special forms of fruit wood - a brief overview

    4. Fruitwood - Definition

    Collective term in fruit tree pruning for all subordinate shoots within the branch hierarchy of a crown that bear flowers and fruit.

    By definition, fruitwood is not part of the permanent framework of fruit trees. The branches may age over time, bearing smaller and smaller fruits. For this reason, older fruiting wood undergoes fruiting pruning aimed at the growth of young fruiting shoots.

    When and where does fruitwood form in the crown? - Example apple tree

    When cultivating fruit trees, it takes a little patience until the first fruiting wood develops in the crown. Although much pruning care is aimed at fruit branch growth, wood occupies a subordinate position in the branch hierarchy. The following chronological sequence illustrates when and where the first fruit wood usually develops within a round crown using the apple tree as an example:

    • Duration of training until the first apple harvest: an average of 4 to 12 years, depending on the growth height
    • In the first few years: growth of the trunk, extension of the trunk and 3 to 5 main branches
    • Side branches thrive on the leading branches as scaffolding branches
    • The first fruit branches, each with a flower bud, sprout from the permanent side branches
    • In the following year, the fruit branches branch into fruit wood with flowers and fruits

    This growth behavior can be transferred to most fruit tree species in the home garden in a modified process. Regardless of the differences between stone and pome fruit, you can't expect fruiting wood to grow until a stable crown structure has developed with fruiting branches branching into fruiting wood.

    An apple tree bears the best fruit wood on the short fruit skewers that come from the two-year-old fruit branches. Only a well thought-out system of leading and side shoots creates the basis for the growth of fruit wood.

    Special forms of fruit wood - a brief overview

    When reading instructions for pruning fruit trees, you will come across various technical terms that are directly related to fruit wood. We have compiled the most common terms with information on their meaning for you below:

    • Fruit skewer: very short, one-year side shoot on a two-year or perennial branch with a terminal flower bud
    • Bouquet shoot: Short shoots with numerous flower buds that appear on stone fruit
    • Fruiting cane: biennial cane with flower buds that spring from a water shoot from last year

    The fruitcake has an important function. In concrete terms, this refers to fruit wood with conspicuous thickening. The thickenings mark the places where the stalks of fruits were in the previous year. Each fruitcake has the potential to yield fresh fruitwood and new fruit skewers. When professionally pruning fruit trees, care should be taken to leave enough fruit cake on the tree.

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    Is the waiting time of up to 12 years for the first fruit wood much too long for you? Then simply raise your fruit tree as a spindle tree. All side shoots thrive as fruit wood on a single skeleton shoot as a mini trunk. Under normal conditions, you can harvest the first fruits from an apple spindle after just 2 years.

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Trees