Rules for pruning tall cherries

What to do if the tree was not formed in a timely manner and therefore the cherry tree grew too tall?

You will have to reduce the crown to 3.5-4 m.

Pruning tall cherries.

How to do this without harming the tree

Cherries do not tolerate such severe pruningbecause her wounds are not healing well.

According to the rules, all skeletal branches should be shortened annually until the tree reaches 2.5-3 m.After this, the central conductor and the upper skeletal branches must be tilted almost to a horizontal position. And in the future, higher growing branches need to be shortened to lateral branches.

After “shock” pruning of a tall tree, it is necessary to shorten the skeletal branches accordingly.
Leave 4-6 skeletal branches in the crown, directed in different directions. The two lower ones are placed close together (30-35 cm along the trunk), the rest - at a distance of 40 cm from each other.

The stem of the cherry tree should be low - 40-50 cm. Cherry is a low-branching species. The shoots quickly lengthen and bear growth buds. The longer the shoots, the more growth buds they have and the fewer fruit buds. Strongly growing shoots become bare over time if they are not shortened.

The degree of pruning depends on the size of the growth. Cut skeletal branches longer than 2.5 m to the nearest branch.

In the future, it is better to do this in a timely manner, when you can shorten the shoots by pinching.

• Shorten a very strong semi-skeletal branch (more than 100 cm) by half
• Shoots that have grown 50-60 cm - one third of the length
• With moderate growth of shoots (30-50 cm), they are cut to a quarter of the length
• Weak ones (up to 20 cm) are not shortened

Cut semi-skeletal branches that have grown by 10 cm into lateral branches. The distance between semi-skeletal branches should be 15-20 cm.

Cherry pruning scheme

Rejuvenating pruning of cherries with severe shortening of branches is best done in May - the first half of June or after harvesting - there will be fewer tops and gum development. Wounds must be immediately covered with garden varnish or rannet.

In summer, watch for the regrowth of young shoots. Remove unnecessary ones in green, break them out. Pinch out the ones you need, removing 2-3 underdeveloped leaves.

During the summer, two pinchings of annual shoots are necessary (before June 20 and in the second half of July). Then you won’t have to resort to heavy pruning of thick branches.

Continuation of the topic:

1. Rejuvenating pruning of old trees
2. There is glue on the trunk of the cherry tree. What to do?
3. Why do leaves begin to fall from trees in summer?
4. What is duke and how to grow it