Those are excellent videos. :thumbsup:
Peach tree trimming
- Thread starter Paddy
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Those are excellent videos. :thumbsup:
RalphVa
Super Member
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- Dec 19, 2003
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- Charlottesville, VA, USA
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- JD 2025R, previously Gravely 5650 & JD 4010 & JD 1025R
Really excellent videos. I'll have to remember to look these up (from NC State) when I'm on the hort helpdesk and get a question there on pruning.
Pruning for fruit production is BRUTAL pruning, not the kind you'd want to do for any ornamental tree. Also, pruning a tree like this makes them prone to make water shoots. You can cut out water shoots any time you find them them, and you should. Otherwise, you'll find yourself with fairly large water shoots growing right in the middle of the upside down umbrella that you want to have fruit from, mainly towards its outer parts. The upside down umbrellas allows sun light and air to flow in there freely, which won't happen if you let some water shoots grow in there.
Always prune your fruit to not touch. Touching will encourage moisture retention and then Brown Rot will come in.
To discourage Brown Rot, I'd recommend doing a spray or two of milk solution (about 9 or 10 water/milk, any kind of milk) just before bud break every year. This may keep Brown Rot from coming. Once you have it, I think your trees are doomed. It'll be very difficult to get rid of it. This has some, limited research base behind it, as milk is a natural preventer for this kind of thing, but there hasn't been a lot done on it. I saw one NC or NC State guy (don't recall which) on TV one day promoting this.
The most important bug preventative is to do 1 or 2 dormant oil sprays during the dormant season (coming to an end now) every year. You will have very little or no bug problems if you do this.
For squirrels, shoot them or use some bait that will cause them to bleed out. Protect the main part of the tree with a mesh or enclosure in the fall to keep hooved rats (some call them deer, not dear to a gardener) from rubbing the bark off to scratch their itchy antlers.
Ralph
Pruning for fruit production is BRUTAL pruning, not the kind you'd want to do for any ornamental tree. Also, pruning a tree like this makes them prone to make water shoots. You can cut out water shoots any time you find them them, and you should. Otherwise, you'll find yourself with fairly large water shoots growing right in the middle of the upside down umbrella that you want to have fruit from, mainly towards its outer parts. The upside down umbrellas allows sun light and air to flow in there freely, which won't happen if you let some water shoots grow in there.
Always prune your fruit to not touch. Touching will encourage moisture retention and then Brown Rot will come in.
To discourage Brown Rot, I'd recommend doing a spray or two of milk solution (about 9 or 10 water/milk, any kind of milk) just before bud break every year. This may keep Brown Rot from coming. Once you have it, I think your trees are doomed. It'll be very difficult to get rid of it. This has some, limited research base behind it, as milk is a natural preventer for this kind of thing, but there hasn't been a lot done on it. I saw one NC or NC State guy (don't recall which) on TV one day promoting this.
The most important bug preventative is to do 1 or 2 dormant oil sprays during the dormant season (coming to an end now) every year. You will have very little or no bug problems if you do this.
For squirrels, shoot them or use some bait that will cause them to bleed out. Protect the main part of the tree with a mesh or enclosure in the fall to keep hooved rats (some call them deer, not dear to a gardener) from rubbing the bark off to scratch their itchy antlers.
Ralph
JimWalch
Silver Member
boy oh boy do I have some trimming to do after watching those videos. Thanks for posting them
