Sunday 9 February 2014

Winter Pruning

I managed to finally get some allotment time when it wasn't raining!

Today's job was winter pruning of an espalier apple tree that we have on the back fence of the allotment. This apple tree produced a lot of fruit this year and I hope I haven't exhausted it for this year.
However, it does need keeping on top of for training on the fence and is roughly laid out as follows
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This is simplified, there were some more sticky out branches and perhaps another vertical.

Now, ideally you would want
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It's a bit too far gone I thing for that however I think I can get  some more horizontals higher up, and the existing verticals which I have left in have fruiting buds

So, I have chopped a quarter off the highest (middle) vertical, back to a bud on either end, and taken out a few of the other straggly branches to neaten the tree up but I didn't want to go too far for fear of weakening it at this time of year when it is starting to bud. I have also tied some of the verticals a bit better
                       
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So, next year it will get further neatening, and over time I should build up the training along the fence.


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