If you want to snack on lots of sweet cherries every year, you should keep an eye on your cherry tree. Without a regular pruning, it quickly reached a size from which the fruits are difficult to reach from the lower vantage point or even with a ladder…

Why cut at all?

Sweet cherries are impatient fellows. They pay no heed to the gardener. They like to grow between 40 and 60 cm per year and tall trunks are up to 30 m high! In order to stop the growth and encourage the cherry to develop a lot of fruit wood, the tree should be pruned regularly.

Another goal of pruning is that the sun can penetrate a lighter crown better. The result: fruits ripen better and more evenly. In addition, water can dry faster on the leaves and the wood and fungal diseases have no chance.

It all depends on the right timing

In contrast to many other fruit trees, the sweet cherry should not be pruned in autumn. The best time for pruning is in summer after harvest (August). A dry day should be selected for this. Only in mild locations can the pruning be done in spring as an alternative. But beware: a cut in the spring stimulates growth.

Which tool is required?

Pruning shears or secateurs can be used for branches no thicker than 1.5 cm. A pruning saw is used for thicker branches. Before the tool gets to the wood, it should be disinfected to get rid of any pathogens on the tools.

How is the cut done?

After planting the sweet cherry, a pruning takes place if the tree nursery has not yet done so. The central drive and three to four leading branches are shortened. All other shoots are mercilessly removed.

A pruning is done later - preferably every year - to thin out and reduce the crown. That's how it's done:

  • Remove shoots that grow inwards
  • shorten the hanging wood
  • Cut where?: above a young side shoot
  • if necessary, remove old and poorly supporting wood
  • Caution: do not cut off short shoots with whorled buds (they bear the most fruit)

tips and tricks

If the sweet cherry has suffered large cuts (larger than 3 cm), these should be treated with a wound sealant as a precaution. Otherwise there is a high risk that fungal spores from Monilia and Co will penetrate the wounded wood.

KKF

Category:

Vegetable garden