Apiary
Pruning of the old apple tree
This weekend, after having attended the course organized by the "Quarantina" consortium on pruning and retrieval of old apple trees, we are dedicated to an old tree which this year has given us excellent apples, despite being forgotten in the woods and covered with any kind of pioneer plants, like the bramble and the lianas of clematis. .
We firstly started to clear the ground by wild hazelnut trees which were taking over pulling upwards beyond the foliage of the apple tree and taking it away the light also needed to develop lower branches.
Then we started to clean the apple tree from the brambles and lianes which completely covered it until over the higher branches (over 10 meters). We cleaned up the trunk from ivy that surrounded it. The first pruning consisted in eliminating the branches apparently dry to begin to understand something in what was a tangle of branches living and dead, sick or healty.
We then passed to remove some of the internal branches to allow light to filter inside the canopy and reach the lower branches. We chose to work in a progressive manner without to overdo with the cuts so as not to endanger the life of the tree.
With the same attention, we then cut some of the outer branches to lighten the plant and allow the most vital branches through "pruning back", to develop the younger and vital branches. Finally, we removed the branches that seemed less vital leaving those who had fewer "crow's feet" in favor of gems mixed with wood and fruit.
In the coming days we will continue cleaning the area, trying to resize other trees around so that, a bit 'at a time, they can become more accessible. The other two trees are cherry trees, a pear tree and a walnut, at least those so far identified.
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- Created on Monday, 21 February 2011 00:00
- Written by Guido
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