By: Teo Spengler Show
Sometimes a new-to-you house comes with a backyard full of old fruit trees planted by the former owners. If they were not properly pruned and maintained over the years, the trees could be overgrown and messy giants that don’t offer much fruit. Restoring old fruit trees is often possible with a lot of patience and a little know-how. Read on for tips on how to rejuvenate old fruit trees. Rejuvenating Old Fruit TreesSome fruit trees are easier than others to restore, so you’ll need to figure out what kind of trees you have before you decide on a course of action. If you aren’t sure what type of trees you have, take twig samples to your local extension office for identification. When you are thinking of reviving an old fruit tree, apple and pear trees are the easiest to work with. Fruit tree rejuvenation is also possible with cherry trees, but experts do not recommend trying to bring back neglected apricot and peach trees. Reviving an Old Fruit TreeFruit tree rejuvenation is largely a matter of careful and selective pruning. Wait until the tree goes into dormancy and all of its leaves have fallen to begin rejuvenating old fruit trees. Restoring old fruit trees that are messy and unproductive is not a quick process. It will take at least three years of judicious pruning to get the job done right. If you try reviving an old fruit tree with one severe pruning, you are very likely to kill it. How to Rejuvenate Old Fruit TreesWhen you start reviving an old fruit tree, your first step is to prune out all dead and damaged branches. Since the tree is overgrown, you may need a ladder to reach the upper part of the crown. Clip off all suckers from the base of the tree as well. After that, turn your attention to the height of the tree and determine how much you want to remove. A tree over 20 feet (6 m.) tall can be pruned back by 6 feet (2 m.) or so the first year, but don’t just whack off the branches by half. Instead, when you are restoring old fruit trees, bring down the height by cutting the principal limbs back to strong side shoots. Let some sun into the top third of the trees by thinning out crossing and hanging branches. Start your second year pruning in the summer, when you should remove vigorous new shoots at the top of the tree. Leave lower shoots alone since the aim of fruit tree rejuvenation is to get the tree to produce new wood in the lower section. During the second year of winter, lower the tree’s height by another few feet (1 to 2 m.) if necessary. You can also shorten limbs to give the lowest branches better light. In the third summer, trim out about half of the most vigorous top shoots. That winter, continue to shorten outer branches. At the end of this period, your tree’s branches should be accessible for picking fruit.
Old, overgrown apples and pear trees can still be attractive and productive features in the garden if brought under control with pruning. Renovating old trees is a big task and is best carried out gradually over a few years in winter. Back Suitable for Old overgrown apples and pears This method of pruning is suitable for old, overgrown apples and pears. Whenever pruning an overgrown tree, ideally do it in stages, over a number of years. Pruning back hard in one year only encourages excessive, vigorous and unfruitful growth. Only trees with a sound, healthy trunk and main branches that show signs of having grown and cropped well in the past are worth attempting to renovate. If the work involves a number of large, heavy, branches and working up a ladder consider employing a qualified arborist. If yield is the most important factor, it might not be worth renovating an old tree. Consider replacing the tree with a new one on a dwarfing rootstock. This would crop at an early age, be easier to manage and take up less space per kilo of yield than a big old tree. Older fruit trees are valuable for wildlife and ‘structure’ and a focal point in the garden. As long as the tree is healthy and poses no safety risk retaining the tree after renovation is highly desirable. Even if trees are not in good condition, provided they do not pose a safety concern they may be worth retaining if they are an old cultivar that is rare or even lost from cultivation (‘lost varieties’). If you don't know the identity of your tree, local fruit experts can often help. If the identity of the tree is uncertain consider bringing fruit to RHS Fruit Naming days or send fruit to Brogdale Collections. Also consider propagating older trees by grafting, especially if the tree itself poses a hazard. Some specialist fruit nurseries offer a grafting service. By propagating old cultivars gardeners can help to maintain the genetic diversity and heritage of our fruit trees. Renovation is best carried out in winter, when the tree is not in leaf, as it encourages strong new growth in spring. It is also easier to see what you are doing when leaves are absent.
Neglected trees often have a crowded main branch framework so the objective of pruning is to improve branch spacing, allowing light and air to reach all parts of the tree and ease picking and maintenance. An open, goblet-shaped branch structure is the ultimate aim. Size of pruning cuts: When pruning, always cut to the main stem or trunk, or back to a well-placed outward-growing side branch. The side branch should be at least one third of the diameter of the branch being cut out; if smaller (i.e. weaker) they have a tendency to die back and produce watershoots from the cut end. Watershoots are tall, upright branches, that produce no flowers or fruit – see Problems section. Where to best make a cut: The ideal point to make a cut is immediately outside the 'collar' (i.e. to retain the collar), which is normally visible as a distinct bulge where the branch joins the trunk or main stem. Branches should neither be cut back flush to the trunk or main stem nor left with a large snag as these will result in poor healing or excessive dieback. See our page on tree pruning. Amount to remove: Aim to remove no more than 25 percent of the canopy in any one year, saving the rest for succeeding years if there is a lot to remove. Removing more than one quarter of the canopy in one year can lead to undesirable regrowth of over-vigorous watershoots. Excessive pruning stresses the tree which will strive to restore the balance of roots and shoots. The resulting watershoots are unfruitful and the tree will take longer to come back into cropping. Also a mass of vertical shoots crowd the crown and require further thinning. Aftercare: Mulch renovated trees in the spring following pruning, and feed with a general balanced fertiliser such as Growmore (at 70g per sq m/2oz per 10 sq yd) to encourage good regrowth. Ideally create a ‘tree circle’ free of vegetation around the base of the tree prior to mulching and applying fertiliser. The circle should be at least 60cm (2ft), but ideally 90cm (3ft) or more in radius. Simple pruning steps for both overgrown trees and old stunted trees; Overgrown, large trees
Stunted, starved treesThese trees have little new growth, but often have overcrowded, dense spur systems (stubby branches producing flowers and fruit). Because there is little new growth moss and lichen readily colonise the branches (link), but these are a sign of poor growth not a cause.
Over-pruning (removing more than 25 percent of the canopy in any one year) may result in the production of watershoots (epicormic growth), which are vigorous, tall, upright and leafy branches, producing no flowers or fruit. How to manage watershoots:
Look out for common problems of old or neglected trees, such as canker, biennial bearing, scab, powdery mildew, rosy apple aphid and woolly aphid. Your free RHS gardening coach Keep track of your plants with reminders & care tips – all to help you grow successfully The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place. |
How to prune old fruit trees
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