Successful Fruit Tree Pruning!!

[ducks4you]

I'll try to get some up this afternoon from several days ago--got a busy schedule this AM. But I need to take some more this weekend. This Spring has been SO LATE for us that my fruit trees did even begin to leaf out until a few days ago. The only one that looks poorly is my 5yo pear tree. Even the old GD apple tree looks happy.

 

[ducks4you]

OK. Couldn't upload my pictures, THEN, Photobucket, supposedly FREE, told me a had a limit, so I had to delete--I did have some duplicate photos, there. Here are my fruit trees from last weekend.
Oldest GD Apple Tree. I lost 2/3 of this tree to last year's drought, but it looks happy.

Red Apple Tree'

Horse's GD Apple Tree

Old Peach Tree

4yo Montmorency Cherry Tree

5yo Montmorency Cherry Tree (I saved sticks for tomato stakes, as you see in the fence corner)

6yo Spiced Pear Tree--I'm afraid that the top 3/4 of this tree is dead)

I'm thinking about waiting a good month to see if any of the top leafs out, then prune it again. Any advice about the pear tree is greatly appreciated.
Looks like they all survived my saw!!

 

[897tgigvib]

Ducks, those look like nice cuts on your Golden Delicious Apple tree. Remember, Apple trees are "bark sensitive". Things happen when they are severely pruned. Have you used a good quality pruning sealant on the cuts?

The wounds on Apple trees are open to fireblight. Even the general healing that begins at the cambium layer on large cuts takes years to go all the way to the middle, and meantime cracks form down the heart and sapwoods into the good wood.

Just a concern here. When ole Frank Distefano taught me pruning when I was only 12, even on small cuts he applied the black tar type, maybe it was some kind of liquid vinyl, not sure, but the white can with black lettering on it that said something like Tree Seal had a lid with a built on brush, and I would open it and hold it for him, then close it. It always sat on the tractor's wagon. Always at the same spot, never to be lost. My hand, or his hand, or there. He even reapplied it to some of the old cuts once a year.

Ole Frank had an Apple tree that he bought from Luther Burbank in the middle of his orchard. Back in 1967 that tree was probably one of the oldest Apple trees in the County.

 

[thistlebloom]

I don't want to be contradictory, but the current advice is not to use any type of sealant on tree wounds. It traps moisture and actually leads to rot and disease, interfering with the trees ability to compartmentalize the wound.

A tree that is heavily pruned into mature wood is going to be very susceptible to disease no matter what you do though.

You can be as proactive as possible by making sure the tree is well watered, foliar feeding and giving a drench of kelp, and doing as much as possible to limit insect damage.

 

[897tgigvib]

Not if it is applied right, and repeated annually if needed.

 

[ducks4you]

Regarding my big GD apple tree, I do have both tree seal and some roofing tar. The biggest limb was mostly dead and the other smaller limbs were~ 85% dead. DD and I were testing the pear tree and the upper limbs just cracked off. I'm gonna have to take a saw to it. How far down should I go? Should I cut below the dead limbs until I reach live wood?

 

[897tgigvib]

I don't know what to suggest for another person's apple tree.

Thistle is wise and experienced. So think on that.

If you do use the tree seal, apply it slowly and get all cut surfaces thoroughly covered. Ensure the seal is complete, and read the instructions on the can.

We never used roofing tar, so I can't input about that.

Your Apple tree is heavily pruned, and will not only take great care, but will also need love.

You may want to get a new rootstock and take a scion wood from the Golden Delicious apple tree and graft it to your new rootstock.

 

[thistlebloom]

Thistle is wise and experienced. So think on that.

Thank you Marshall. Your check is in the mail for the amount we agreed on.

Ducks, I'm in the same position as Marshall in being reluctant to suggest what to do to your tree. He and I differ on this point ( using sealer ) but he has actually used it and been successful, and I have always let the tree compartmentalize the pruning cuts without the application of anything.

However.... you have some seriously large cuts on your trees and you may want to take Marshalls tack on this. I would definitely not use roofing tar if it were my tree.

As for the pear tree, I would cut until you reach live tissue. Because it is now spring, any cuts will stimulate a lot of new sprouts coming from those areas. Choose one and rub the others out. You may want to wait until fall to choose the best one to leave.

 

[897tgigvib]

Something I just now noticed looking at your photos Ducks. The grass is growing right to the trunks. That by itself might not be harmful for healthy trees, but your trees are recuperating.

May want to carefully remove the grass to the drip line, being careful with surface shallow roots. Don't worry about every single piece of grass coming out, just most all of it. Then, you can condition that soil for them. Mix in a full dose of Bone Meal, and surface scratch in a good 5 inches of compost. Careful not to raise the soil level around the trunk's graft mark.

They survived a bad drought. Have some water for them if there is a drought again.

 

[ducks4you]

Don't need the rain right now. I left out a watering bucket and it filled 9 inches from last week's rain. I have plenty of compost.
The oldest GD apple tree cuts were ALL dead or dying branches. I don't think I cut more than 10% live wood. We burned a great deal of the cuts already and added the rest to my "bonfire pile." THIS tree looks pretty healthy and is leafing out nicely, and at the same rate as all of my other, younger apple trees.
I'm gonna have to saw more off of my spiced pear. I pull on two upper branches and they snapped.
Any advice on pruning fruit on my peach tree? It is covered with blossoms.