Proper pruning is so important - it improves the health of the plants, prevents disease, and encourages better flowering. There are different pruning strategies for different times of the year, but overall the goals are the same - to control the height and shape, develop good limb structure, encourage growth, remove damaged or diseased branches, and to allow for better air circulation. Not long ago, my outdoor grounds crew pruned many of my apple trees - those that are original to the farm and the dwarf espaliered apple trees I planted when I moved here.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Every year my apple trees produce a multitude of delicious fruits. This is my dwarf apple espalier behind my carport.
Espalier refers to an ancient technique, resulting in trees that grow flat, either against a wall, or along a wire-strung framework. They’re supported on wire attached to strong antique granite posts from China originally used as grape supports. There are four rows of espaliered apples here. I also have espaliered Gravenstein apples across the carriage road and espaliered apples in my living maze.
Some of the trees I maintain are original to the farm. They also continue to produce so many wonderful fruits.
I have all different varieties that are great to eat right off the tree, pressed into cider, or baked into pies and tarts.
The apple tree is a deciduous tree in the rose family best known for its sweet, pomaceous fruit. These trees do so well because I take excellent care of them. All my apple trees are fed and pruned regularly during the year.
Here’s Phurba atop one of the “ancient” apple trees across from my Winter House behind the herbaceous peony bed. The vigorous, upward-growing branches on these trees are all last year’s new growth, which need to be removed.
These are water sprouts. These won’t produce fruit, so many of them are pruned so the light can still reach through the center of the trees.
Here’s Chhiring working in another section pruning the Ds – the dead, diseased, damaged, and deranged or crisscrossing branches, as well as any water sprouts and suckers.
The crew is able to reach many branches with hand pruners. Pruning shears, hand pruners, or secateurs are a type of scissors used on plants. They are strong enough to prune hard branches of trees and shrubs, sometimes up to an inch thick.
For thicker branches, the crew also uses a pruning hand saw. A pruning saw makes it easier to cut branches and not harm them.
Here’s a clean cut. These can only be made with sharp tools. I encourage everyone to keep their tools in tiptop condition.
In general, when pruning always encourage branches to grow toward the outside of the tree and eliminate those that grow toward the center or cross other branches. Air and light need to penetrate the foliage to the center of the tree as much as possible.
In the springtime, apple trees flower and produce fruit on long-lived, stubby twigs called spurs, often referred to as old wood. Pruning encourages the tree to grow more of these fruiting spurs. All our fruit trees are pruned once a year.
After all the branches are cut, they are gathered, neatly piled, and then processed through a wood chipper to make mulch.
The same pruning methods are used at the espaliered apples.
Here’s Chhiring cutting off the water sprouts. He also focuses on the overall height of the espaliered trees, so the end result is even along the entire row.
When Phurba prunes he cuts branches at a 45 to 60 degree angle. Using hand tools takes a little longer, but gives my trees a more natural appearance and shape.
Here is another good cut. It is close to the branch collar at the base of the limb.
Look at all the cut branches from just one row of dwarf apple trees.
By the end of this project, every row is cut just right.
Controlling woody plant growth for the production of fruit has been a practice since the 18th and 19th centuries. The espaliered fruits were easier to access and adorned many stately homes. Right now at my farm, there’s still snow on the ground, but it won’t be long before these trees are filled with gorgeous flavorful fruits.
In order to keep my all my gardens, allées, and groves as beautiful as possible, I pay lots of attention to the maintenance and care of all my trees. This time of year, my outdoor grounds crew is busy pruning many of the trees, including my lindens.
Lindens, Tilia, are medium to large sized shade trees that are easy to maintain and attractive in any landscape. I have two linden tree allées - one that runs from the old corn crib all the way down to the chicken coops and the other slightly older allée near my stable. These trees, with their pyramidal shape and slow growth, are excellent specimens for the type of pruning called pollarding, a very severe method that involves cutting back on the main limbs, or even all the way down to the top of the trunk to promote the growth of club-headed stems and dense new foliage and branches. Pollarding should be done annually. We started pollarding these lindens in 2021, and we've noticed good development in the years since.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
This photo was taken just before pruning began. It was a cold day, but sunny and not too windy so it was perfect for some high tree work.
These lindens have grown beautifully here at the farm. This photo was taken in summer when the trees were all full of leaves. Lindens have a loose canopy that produces dappled shade on the ground below, allowing in just enough sunlight for shade grasses and flowers to develop nicely.
Here they are in late summer just before the leaves turn. Linden trees are easy to care for and ideal for urban landscapes because they tolerate a wide range of adverse conditions, including pollution.
And in autumn, the leaves take on a beautiful golden hue before eventually dropping.
The best time to prune and pollard trees is when the trees are dormant, during the cold winter months. It’s best to complete all pruning before early spring when the buds begin to form. Dormancy pruning reduces the amount of stress placed on the tree. The reduced flow of fluids in the tree during the time helps the pruning wounds heal quicker.
High, overcrowded limbs are removed first. Phurba also cuts any visible Ds of pruning – dead, diseased, damaged, or deranged and crisscrossing branches.
Then Phurba starts pollarding, which is essentially forming a “knuckle” or “bole” by removing growth back to the main stem.
It is easy to see where any branch was previously cut. Here are a couple of older pruning cuts on a lower branch.
Here is a closer look at one upward growing branch that is not pollarded yet. This year, I asked the crew to focus on these upward branches and leave more of the sides, so the trees leaf out wide and full.
And here is one tree almost done – notice the tops are starting to develop “nubs” or “knuckles” – these will look even better year after year. More thought and planning goes into pollarding than regular topping, and lopping. Pollarding is similar to coppicing but plants are cut back to a stump, rather than down to the ground.
And here is a new cut – always made outside the branch collar at a 45 to 60 degree angle to the branch bark ridge.
Everyone on the crew uses sharp bypass pruners. Remember, a sharp tool always cuts clean, and helps the plant to recover better. Dull cutting tools rip and shred the plant tissue.
Here’s Phurba also using a telescoping pole saw for cutting hard to reach branches. This tool is lightweight and has a very sharp blade for making smooth cuts. It is ideal for pruning higher branches that are not too thick.
Chhiring stays on the ground raking up the fallen branches and watching everyone from below.
The branches are gathered and then loaded onto the dump truck and taken to a designated pile for the wood chipper.
Pollarding can help make trees live longer by maintaining them in a partially juvenile state and by reducing the weight and windage of the top part of the tree.
Here’s Pasang working on another tree. It takes several days to get the entire allée completed. Regular and thorough pruning will give the branches more air circulation and room to grow.
Here is one side complete. It looks great. Each year the long slender shoots that grow below the cuts will be removed, and a set of new shoots will develop creating a gnarled appearance.
All the trees are trimmed to the same height. Some of the other types of trees that can benefit from pollarding include beech trees, black locust trees, catalpa trees, hornbeams, horse chestnuts, London planetrees, mulberry trees, redbuds, and willows. It’s exciting to see these trees grow and evolve over time.
Inside my greenhouse, the seeds I started for the next gardening season are growing fast.
Once seedlings start to develop, it’s important to keep up with maintenance care - thin out seedlings that are weak, prick out those that are growing too big for their seed starting trays, and transplant them into larger pots and flats.
Here are some photos and tips, enjoy.
These seedlings in my greenhouse are in different stages of growth. They were planted from seed over the last few weeks. As they germinate and begin to mature, it’s important to check their development, so they continue to thrive.
Regardless of how perfect seeds may appear, germination is never guaranteed, so multiple seeds are always planted in each seed starting tray cell. This provides a better chance at least one in each cell will take root.
When the seedlings are a couple inches tall and have reached their “true leaf” stage, which is when each seedling has sprouted a second set of leaves, it’s time for a process called selective thinning. Selective thinning prevents overcrowding, so seedlings don’t have competition for soil nutrients or room to grow.
When thinning, Ryan carefully inspects the seedlings and determines the strongest ones. He looks for fleshy leaves, upright stems, and center positioning in the space. The smaller, weaker, more spindly looking seedlings are removed, leaving only the stronger ones to mature. Ryan starts with some asters. Using large tweezers, he removes those seedlings less likely to thrive.
Once selective thinning is complete, there should only be one or two seedlings in each cell of the seed starting tray or container. They will continue to grow until moved to larger trays or pots.
Seed starting trays come in a variety of sizes and can be reused from year to year. I have trays and pots stored nicely where they can be accessed easily for transplanting.
These flats have individual pots that can accommodate growing seedlings. Experiment with pots to see which ones work best for what plants. And always choose containers or trays that have proper drainage holes at the bottom.
The pots are filled with an appropriate potting mix. I like to use Miracle-Gro Potting Mix with moisture control. A good quality organic mix designed for seedlings will be fast draining, and light. It will usually contain sphagnum moss and perlite or vermiculite. These mixes are formulated to encourage strong, healthy growth in new plants.
The soil mix is leveled and put aside for transplanting.
Working in a production line process and filling a lot of trays first is an efficient way to work – there are many seeds to transplant here in my greenhouse.
This is a great multipurpose tool for seed starting – it’s from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. It’s called a widger. It has a convex stainless steel blade that delicately separates seedlings.
When it is time to move a seedling, carefully loosen the soil around the seedling with the widger. The widger also helps to avoid damage to the plant’s leaves, or roots.
Using fingers or the end of a thick marker pen, make a hole in the center of each larger, pot or tray cell. The soil mix is very soft.
The hole just needs to be big enough for the seedling root ball.
My gardening helper, Matt, replants the seedling into its new pot.
The seedling is planted as deep as it was in its previous tray cell.
And then the surrounding soil is tamped down lightly to ensure good contact and to remove any air pockets. Avoid handling the seedling by its tender stems, which can bruise easily.
The purpose of transplanting is to provide enough room – overcrowding can stress the sprouts.
These seedlings now have more space for root development and look more organized.
Once seedlings are transferred and fed, they’re given a good drink of water and returned to the greenhouse to continue growing. The trays are placed on a heat mat specifically designed for seedlings. It warms the area and helps to improve root growth.
There’s always a lot of work to do in my greenhouse. It’s so nice to be able to grow vegetables and flowers from seed during these winter months. It won’t be long before they are all ready to be moved outdoors and planted in the gardens.
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