Pruning a walnut in spring, summer and autumn: how to shape it correctly

Pruning an adult walnut tree is not the most difficult task, but it is important to approach it with all responsibility. To remove extra branches, use only sharp secateurs and garden shears so that there are no creases at the cut points.

Why you need to trim

Pruning any trees is necessary almost every year, depending on the growth rate of the branches. To understand whether a walnut needs to be trimmed, it is enough to pay attention to the appearance of the tree. Usually even an inexperienced gardener understands that it's time to remove the excess.

Regular procedure increases fruiting, immunity to crop diseases. Anti-aging pruning is responsible for this. In addition, the exercise helps to get rid of some walnut diseases.

Basic schemes

It is possible to correctly form a crown of a walnut only after studying the basic schemes. Crown formation is a crucial stage in caring for a tree, on which not only the yield, but also the he alth of the walnut depends. You can form a tree according to several schemes.

Improved Longline

With improved-tier pruning, only 3 skeletal branches are left on each tier. The distance between them should be no more than 15 cm. In the autumn, the second stage is carried out - the lower tier of branches is cut so that nothing grows on the trunk at a distance of 1.5 m from the ground. It is advisable to cut the walnut so that it has 5-6 tiers of branches.

The distance between the tiers was 50 cm. And the top is completely cut off so that the branches grow in breadth, and not up.

Leader

The main principle of this type of crown formation is the distribution of branches, which belong to the skeletal species, at a distance of 50 cm from each other. Before fruiting, skeletal shoots are left. And then their length is gradually cut.

Cup-shaped

Cup pruning not only increases yields but also makes it easier to harvest from the tree. The stem with this procedure has a length of 1.5-2 m. Skeletal branches are left 3-4. The distance between them is left about 50 cm.

The central branch is cut off at the base, and the top two are crossed with the bottom ones. Every year for 3-4 years cupping is done in autumn.

Features of anti-aging pruning

Rejuvenating procedure is carried out only on trees that have reached many years of age. For walnuts, it is 10 years. Before this period, the procedure is not recommended. You can rejuvenate a tree with different types of pruning. But there are a number of features that they all have in common.

Features of pruning old trees:

• During the procedure, dry branches and part of the skeletal branches are removed.
• The need for a rejuvenating procedure appears if the yield has decreased and the plant has grown strongly.
• Procedure in early spring or summer.
• Remove branches in places with side branches.

Rejuvenating pruning stimulates the flow of nutrients to the plant, helps awaken the kidneys. Fruit quality is also improving.

What tools will you need

First of all, you will need a secateurs to cut a walnut. Before carrying out the procedure, it should be sharpened as sharply as possible.

Work tools:

• Lopper.
• Scissors.
• Brushcutter.
• Hacksaw.

All tools must be well sharpened. For thick branches use a hacksaw. For thin shoots, garden shears are suitable. Branches of medium thickness are cut with secateurs.

The rest of the instruments may not be needed, but just in case, it is better to have them with you during the procedure.

Terms of works

There are several favorable periods when you can form a walnut. Walnut pruning is carried out in spring, summer or autumn.The most favorable period for the formation of the crown is summer, and more precisely, July-August. Cuts after summer pruning heal faster, and the tree does not get sick for so long. Also during this period, the intensity of sap flow returns to normal faster.

Pruning after winter

The first time of the year, the walnut is cut in the spring, after the warm weather sets in. It is not recommended to carry out the procedure until the positive temperature is established outside, even at night. In the spring, anti-aging pruning is carried out, which is aimed at crown formation and renewal.

In the spring, the procedure is carried out in March-April. During this period, the nut tolerates the procedure more easily. The spring formation of the crown is carried out after the height of the tree is 1.5 m. Particular attention should be paid to the formation of a young seedling.

Green walnut pruning in summer

Summer procedure is aimed at removing branches damaged by diseases or pests. Formative pruning is also carried out in the summer, if it was not done in the spring. In the summer, the "haircut" scheme is used. This type has the best effect on fruiting. But in the summer, the walnut is pruned once every few years.

Autumn pruning

A sanitary procedure is carried out in autumn. Prune the tree after it has shed all the leaves. The procedure is carried out as early as possible, until the crown has had time to form in a chaotic manner. Cut dry and diseased branches. If the walnut is already an adult tree, then you will have to remove fairly large branches. And for the plant, this is a lot of stress.

Nuances of the operation

Before performing the procedure, it is important to study all the nuances of cropping. Since the procedure for a walnut is very stressful, it is important to approach the formation of the crown with all responsibility. The first time after planting a walnut seedling, the procedure is carried out in the second year.

How to shorten the branches of young trees?

If the walnut seedling is young enough, pruning is required only after the age of two years. And a lot of deleting branches during this period is not recommended. Another criterion by which you can understand that it's time to cut the seedling is that the height of the trunk has reached 100 cm. If the tree is below 100 cm, you should wait with the procedure. During this period, cup-shaped crown formation is suitable. 3-4 skeletal branches are left on the plant, which will be responsible for fruiting. And the rest is deleted.

In the third year, dry or damaged branches are removed. Pruning during this period should not be intense.

Mature tree care

Pruning the crown is an important step in walnut care. But just forming a nut will not be enough. To increase productivity, you can not do without the organization of watering and fertilizing.The walnut does not like loosening the soil. Walnut belongs to moisture-loving crops, so it is watered twice a month with the onset of spring. One tree needs 4-5 liters of water. For irrigation use only warm water.

With the onset of August, irrigation is stopped. In the fall, watered if there was almost no rain. In this case, the walnut is moistened before the onset of cold weather.

Nitrogen is applied to the soil in spring and in the first half of summer. Phosphorus and potash fertilizers are added to the soil closer to autumn. Green manure plants also have a beneficial effect on walnut growth. In summer, lupine, peas, oats, chin or clover are planted next to the tree. And in the fall they are dug up together with the soil. Green manure plants fill the ground with nutrients that the walnut needs with the onset of spring.

Common cropping mistakes

Without knowing exactly how to prune properly, many gardeners make blunders that only make the tree grow worse.

Common mistakes of summer residents:

• Pruning branches with a blunt and non-sterile knife or secateurs.
• Treat tree wounds with oil paint or garden pitch.
• Form a crown when cold weather has already set in in autumn or when frosts have not ended in early spring.
• Delete too many branches.

Having studied in advance the rules for pruning a nut in spring and autumn, it will be possible to avoid gross mistakes and not harm the plant.

How to process large cuts on a tree

There is an opinion that it is better not to process the places of cuts on the branches at all and let them heal naturally. But still it is worth processing so that fungal diseases do not appear on them.

How to handle cut points:

• Sugar solution (2 tsp per 200 ml of water).
• Honey solution (3 tsp per 250 ml of water).
• A solution of potassium permanganate.

The surface of the cuts on the branches of the plant has the ability to oxidize even in winter, so processing fresh cuts on the tree is necessary in any case.

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