Pruning Workshop - April 13 or April 14 (duplicate workshops) - 9:00 to 11:30 am
Target Audience: Anyone with 1 or more fruit trees. Beginner to advanced.
Content of workshop: After covering general principles of pruning (for example, identification of the branch collar, type of cuts, response of tree to different types of cuts, tree structure options, training techniques, etc.), training and pruning practices for each stage of a fruit tree’s development will be covered. The sequence of pruning interventions in the first few years lead to a tree that can more easily be maintained and harvested in its productive years (vs. needing to correct limb structure after the tree is already in production). The workshop will cover the quite distinctive pruning principles used with apples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots, and cherries, taking into consideration the typical growth patterns of the different varieties, differences in location and characteristics of fruit buds, structure options, etc. Along the way, our instructor, Bob Purvis, will also be commenting on the effects of rootstock and variety combinations that influence tree vigor and fruiting patterns relevant to training and pruning interventions. The use of various tree training strategies (spacers, twine, clothespins, etc.) will be covered.
Yes! A person can and should learn a lot about training and pruning from the excellent materials available online from agricultural extension offices around the county. But April 13 (or April 14) will be the day to observe and interact live with an experienced orchardist as together you decide on the best cuts for various types of fruit trees of various ages. Few of the cuts made on real fruit trees in a real orchard are as easy and straight-forward as those found in even the best extension bulletins. Bob will explain why he makes each cut and the trade-offs he has to consider when faced with conflicting concerns, such as cutting back to the first bud a well-placed scaffold limb that has a problematic aspect ratio (yes, you will get to see first-hand what is meant by aspect ratio when managing a central leader tree). Because the host, Mike Chase, has a fairly small orchard, just a little over an acre of trees, Bob can quickly move the participants from a newly planted tree, to 1, 2, 3 and 4-year old trees, demonstrating the training and pruning cuts appropriate for each stage of development and each kind of fruit tree. During the demonstration, Bob will also be pointing out the probable location of undesirable summer growth typically resulting from certain cuts and how to control that growth through summer pruning. Especially valuable is Bob’s discussion of the correction of problems that could have been created by avoided by performing certain crucial pruning cuts the previous year. This orchard provides ample opportunity to point out “missed opportunities” – trees that could have been pruned better previously and which now can be used to demonstrate corrective cuts. By combining the focused pre-reading that participants will be doing (see “Pre-workshop reading” below) with Bob’s “let’s look at this problem and consider our options” approach to his pruning demonstration, the participants, even experienced ones, will have lots of “Oh, now I see!” moments where book learning about pruning is moved to a whole new level.
The focus of the workshop is the year-to-year training and pruning of fruit trees from when they are first planted until they come into production and then the maintenance of those trees for maximizing production. However, some workshop participants might have older, overgrown trees that they would like to rejuvenate. For those with that interest, Mike will provide a brief show-n-tell after Bob’s workshop, demonstrating four seasons of work renovating two apple trees that are about 60 years old and two other apple trees that are probably 100 years old.
More details here.
Content of workshop: After covering general principles of pruning (for example, identification of the branch collar, type of cuts, response of tree to different types of cuts, tree structure options, training techniques, etc.), training and pruning practices for each stage of a fruit tree’s development will be covered. The sequence of pruning interventions in the first few years lead to a tree that can more easily be maintained and harvested in its productive years (vs. needing to correct limb structure after the tree is already in production). The workshop will cover the quite distinctive pruning principles used with apples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots, and cherries, taking into consideration the typical growth patterns of the different varieties, differences in location and characteristics of fruit buds, structure options, etc. Along the way, our instructor, Bob Purvis, will also be commenting on the effects of rootstock and variety combinations that influence tree vigor and fruiting patterns relevant to training and pruning interventions. The use of various tree training strategies (spacers, twine, clothespins, etc.) will be covered.
Yes! A person can and should learn a lot about training and pruning from the excellent materials available online from agricultural extension offices around the county. But April 13 (or April 14) will be the day to observe and interact live with an experienced orchardist as together you decide on the best cuts for various types of fruit trees of various ages. Few of the cuts made on real fruit trees in a real orchard are as easy and straight-forward as those found in even the best extension bulletins. Bob will explain why he makes each cut and the trade-offs he has to consider when faced with conflicting concerns, such as cutting back to the first bud a well-placed scaffold limb that has a problematic aspect ratio (yes, you will get to see first-hand what is meant by aspect ratio when managing a central leader tree). Because the host, Mike Chase, has a fairly small orchard, just a little over an acre of trees, Bob can quickly move the participants from a newly planted tree, to 1, 2, 3 and 4-year old trees, demonstrating the training and pruning cuts appropriate for each stage of development and each kind of fruit tree. During the demonstration, Bob will also be pointing out the probable location of undesirable summer growth typically resulting from certain cuts and how to control that growth through summer pruning. Especially valuable is Bob’s discussion of the correction of problems that could have been created by avoided by performing certain crucial pruning cuts the previous year. This orchard provides ample opportunity to point out “missed opportunities” – trees that could have been pruned better previously and which now can be used to demonstrate corrective cuts. By combining the focused pre-reading that participants will be doing (see “Pre-workshop reading” below) with Bob’s “let’s look at this problem and consider our options” approach to his pruning demonstration, the participants, even experienced ones, will have lots of “Oh, now I see!” moments where book learning about pruning is moved to a whole new level.
The focus of the workshop is the year-to-year training and pruning of fruit trees from when they are first planted until they come into production and then the maintenance of those trees for maximizing production. However, some workshop participants might have older, overgrown trees that they would like to rejuvenate. For those with that interest, Mike will provide a brief show-n-tell after Bob’s workshop, demonstrating four seasons of work renovating two apple trees that are about 60 years old and two other apple trees that are probably 100 years old.
More details here.