To ensure optimal growth and development of your peach tree, as well as increased fruit production, it's very important to remember to prune it every year. Pruning—as long as it's done properly—can ensure a healthy tree.
Therefore, so that we can achieve our goal This article explains everything about the pruning of the peach tree.
When was it pruned?
The peach tree is a deciduous fruit tree, which loses its leaf in autumn and early winter, depending on the climate. Doing so also slows its growth rate, decreasing the amount of sap circulating through its vessels. However, we couldn't prune it right now because frost or snow could weaken it.
The ideal time to prune it is in early autumn -if it is a tree that has already begun to bear fruit- or late winterFor more information about the pruning period, you can consult this article on pruning stone fruit trees, as it has useful information on the care required for this type of tree.
How is it pruned?
There are three types of pruning:
Deformation
As its name implies, it is made to shape the tree. It is performed when the tree is still young, from 1 to 4 years old, giving it a vase shape. This technique is essential to ensure healthy and balanced growth. If you'd like to learn more about the different types of pruning, you can read more about pruning types which can be applied to various fruit trees.
Cleaning
Consists in remove branches, diseased or weak, as well as suckers. Branches that crisscross, giving a tangled appearance, are also pruned. Proper pruning is essential to prevent the spread of diseases, such as those that affect peach trees. For more information, see peach tree diseases.
Fruiting
It is the type of pruning that is done to get the tree to produce a greater amount of fruit. It begins to be done from the third year of life. To do it well, you have to know the different formations that we can find in the plant:
- May bouquets: they are twigs 15 to 30cm long from which flowers can sprout. It is recommended to remove them.
- Chiffon: they are like bouquets of May but much weaker and shorter. You also have to remove them.
- Mixed bouquets: they measure from 30 to 100cm. Flowers sprout from them. They should be trimmed above two vegetative buds from the base of the bouquet.
- Wooden bouquets: they are branches without leaves -or very scarce-. They can be trimmed or removed directly.
- Pacifiers: they are suckers that sprout from the roots. It is advisable to remove them.
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