Apricots or apricots are among the most popular fruits, which is why a small tree in every garden has an enriching effect. Regular cuts ensure that the wood grows healthily and ensures a rich harvest every year.
The apricot tree can receive a spring cut in mid-March
time
Pruning measures for this fruit tree take place between the beginning of August and mid-October. This summer pruning has some advantages over an early pre-flowering pruning. If you missed this point in time, you can carry out a spring cut from mid-March to mid-April.
summer cut
Apricot trees are pruned in summer immediately after harvest. Since the tree is also deprived of assimilate by removing leaf mass, shoot growth is reduced. If you grab the scissors in time, the apricot tree can close its cuts until the first frosts.
spring pruning
Keep an eye on the weather forecast in spring, because the onset of frost can damage the tree. Use scissors on frost-free and overcast days so that the wood is not stressed too much. In general, you should only carry out pruning measures shortly after winter in emergencies. If the plant health suffers from old or diseased branches, a maintenance intervention is advisable.
types of cuts
An apricot tree needs a few pruning measures over the course of its life so that the fruit tree bears fruit every year. The procedure differs according to age.
plant cutting
In order to achieve a good balance between crown and root system, you should cut the apricot tree immediately after planting. Shorten the main shoot by a third, which protrudes the furthest upwards. All other branches that form the crown structure are shortened by two thirds. Position the pruning shears half an inch above an eye that is facing outward. Completely remove weak and diseased shoots.
education cut
With this measure you ensure vigorous growth and create the basis for an aesthetic shape. To do this, choose three to five main branches that grow flat outwards. Like the center drive, shorten this by a third. Competing branches and those growing into the interior of the crown are completely removed. You can carry out the education cut annually in the early years.
topiary
In the years that follow, more skeletal branches are set up so that the crown grows denser. Prune all side shoots from these main branches, cutting the upper branches to two buds and the lower ones to five. This gives you a roof-shaped appearance. Cut back the central shoot so that it ends 20 centimeters above the side branches of the scaffold.
maintenance cut
In order for the apricot tree to develop new long shoots, it has to be pruned more intensively every few years. Radical thinning ensures that more light falls into the crown again.
Cutting tips:
- completely remove steeply growing shoots
- Thin out branches that are close together
- Spare fruiting branches inside