Wintertime pruning continues at my Bedford, New York farm - this week, the apple trees!
If you grow these wonderful fruit trees, the best time to prune them is now - in winter - or in very early spring before any new growth begins. Pruning not only helps to develop proper shape and form, but also encourages new growth, promotes high fruit yield, and maintains good tree health. My outdoor grounds crew is busy pruning all the old apple trees. Many of these apple trees are original to the farm, and with good maintenance and regular trimming, these trees will continue to bring bounties of delicious, juicy apples for many years to come.
Enjoy these photos.
The apple tree is a deciduous tree in the rose family best known for its sweet, pomaceous fruit, the apple. I have many different varieties growing at my farm. During a good apple season, I make lots and lots of cider. This past autumn, my granddaughter, Jude, took on this tradition and made many quarts of delicious, naturally sweet juice.
A good number of my apple trees are at least 50-years old, so they were already here when I purchased the property. Here’s a late summer photo when the grass is green and the trees are full of fruits. This apple tree is next to some old quince trees not far from my old corn crib.
Here’s another image from this past October when the trees were laden with fruits. Everyone here at the farm loves apple picking season and I share the apples with friends, family and of course, my horses. For cider, the apples need not be flawless, but they should be free of spoilage, which would cause the juice to ferment too rapidly.
These are the “ancient” apple trees in the middle of the horse paddock in front of my Winter House. To maintain productive fruit trees, they do need regular maintenance and pruning once a year. Now is the time to prune these trees. The tree takes up a dormant state after shedding its leaves and before sprouting new buds. Pruning is best completed just before growth starts in the spring as cuts will heal quickly. There are two main goals of pruning trees. On young trees, pruning encourages a strong, solid framework. And on mature trees like these, they usually already have their shape determined, so it’s important to maintain their shape and size. Traditionally, apple trees were always encouraged to stay shorter, so apples were easier to reach.
Looking up, one can see all the new growth that needs trimming. These are water sprouts. Water sprouts are thin branches which normally grow straight up from lateral branches and do not bear fruit.
Pasang is an excellent pruner and does a lot of the smaller tree pruning projects at the farm. Here he is pruning the new growth off of the top of this apple tree in front of my studio.
Pruning encourages the tree to grow more of these fruiting spurs by eliminating competing suckers and unproductive wood.
As with any pruning project, it’s important to cut the three “Ds” – dead, diseased, and damaged branches. This is a dead branch – notice the dark brown wood. Dead branches, or those without any signs of new growth, are cut, so the energy is directed to the branches with fruiting buds.
Pasang also cuts branches that are rubbing or crisscrossing each other, preventing any healthy new growth. Basically, the goal is to create a tree with well spaced lateral branches. Any branches which interfere with the tree’s shape or create a dense framework should be removed.
The final cut on each unwanted bough needs to be alongside the “branch collar”, a raised ring of bark where the branch intersects with another branch. Growth cells concentrate in these nodes, causing fast bark regrowth which seals the cuts.
Pasang is careful to check every section as he works. It is a time consuming task, but good, thorough pruning is important for the health of the tree. I always prefer hand tools that will give my trees a more natural appearance and shape. Smaller twigs are snipped off with regular secateurs. Each member of my outdoor grounds crew has a pair.
Down below – all the cut branches. There is a lot of pruning to do on these trees – they are healthy and have produced a lot of growth in the last year.
Here, Pasang removes crowded branches to help let in light and promote good air circulation.
Some of the apples still remain – holding tight to their branches.
Here’s Phurba working on the ground to gather all the cut branches. After all the branches are cut, they are gathered, neatly piled, and then either saved for kindling or processed through a wood chipper to make mulch.
It looks much better now after pruning. Once the tree is pruned, the crew stands back and takes a look to make sure nothing was missed. The end goal is to encourage good fruit production.
On healthy trees, about a third of the growth can be pruned. Spur branches where the apple tree flowers and sets fruit are the most preferred. Pasang is working on one of the trees in the horse paddock.
The new growth should be pruned fairly flush to the branch from which it grew. The idea is to leave slight stubs. By removing any more, the remaining branch has too much of an opening for disease to enter.
And these trees are behind my herbaceous peony bed – also original to the farm. I am looking forward to many lustrous green trees heavy with rosy red fruit come autumn. The crew has pruned a good number of apple trees in the last few days, but there are still many more to go – keep up the good pruning, guys!
My vibrant and melodious red factor canaries make even the coldest winter days so cheerful.
I keep a number of birds as pets, including a group of canaries and a pair of charming Combassou finches, which live with me inside my Winter House. They have a large wooden cage I designed after one that came from France, built around 1900 - probably to house doves or quails. It sits in my enclosed porch where all the birds can enjoy the views through the floor to ceiling windows. This week has been bitterly cold here in Bedford, New York, but all my curious and active little avian friends are happy as can be singing, flying from perch to perch, and eating from a fresh buffet of seeds and greens from my greenhouses.
Enjoy these photos.
The red factor canary, Serinus canaria domestica, is one of the most popular canary breeds. They are prized for their color rather than their song, but they are also very happy singers. Here is a canary looking down from a branch in my large cage. This day was quite cold outside – temperatures were in the 20s – I have a red heat lamp in the cage to keep it comfortably warm for the birds.
My canaries are located on my enclosed porch. The canaries love it here – they can see so much of the activity around the farm from the big windows and doors.
I also keep classical music on for them every day. The branches are specially picked and saved from my trees – usually the apple trees, when they are groomed. Canaries do not need special toys like some other birds, but they do need strong perches with multiple branches.
They are given lots of fresh water and food every morning. A canary’s metabolism is fast, so it’s important to be observant of their eating needs and habits. This canary is eating and looking out the window.
Red factor canaries need certain nutrients to maintain their bold, colorful plumage. Fresh foods containing beta-carotene, canthaxanthin and carotenoids along with greens and the appropriate canary seed make up a good well-balanced diet.
The birds are given a buffet of seeds, leafy greens, and fruits. Seed blends are designed to support the birds’ seasonal needs with a wide range of micronutrients for resting, breeding, and molting seasons. The greens are always freshly picked from my gardens – the outdoor vegetable garden in summer and my indoor vegetable garden the rest of the year. I am fortunate to always have organic healthy greens here at the farm.
Food is found on every level of the cage – they all love to fly from all the different feeding areas.
They like some mixes more than others, but I always offer a healthy variety containing a balance of protein, carbohydrates and essential fatty acids necessary for proper growth and immune system functioning.
I love seeing the birds gathered by their seed bowls – they have good strong appetites.
If you choose to keep canaries, remember to get the largest cage your home can accommodate, and the nicest cage your budget can afford. Canaries need room to flap their wings and fly from perch to perch.
First bred in the early 1900s, this type of canary is the only color-bred variety with a “red factor” as part of its genetic makeup. They were originally developed by crossing a red siskin and a yellow canary.
When hatched, canaries are pale yellow-peach or orange. As they grow, they develop more red coloring from the beta carotene in their foods. Healthy and well-cared for canaries can live at least 10 to 12 years.
Perched on a branch near the top of the cage are these two Combassou finches I added to my flock a year and a half ago. They were gifted to me by my friend, Ari Katz, who is a very knowledgeable and passionate young avian enthusiast. These small, friendly finches are native to South Africa.
The corn cob litter on the floor of the cage is changed daily, so the birds are always in a fresh, clean environment.
In general, canaries don’t like lots of handling, but my canaries are used to all the activity around them, so they are never scared when visitors approach.
It is interesting to see where they choose to balance and roost. These birds are constantly flying from perch to perch, level to level.
These birds are so photogenic no matter what they’re doing. And they are extremely curious – I wonder what caught this young canary’s attention.
Canaries are active during the day, but they also rest well and prefer to sleep in the dark. At the end of every day, the canary cage is covered with a sheet.
Male Canaries are known for their singing while females use chirps to communicate. I enjoy their chirping and their song.
Canaries are generally good-natured, social creatures with joyful dispositions. I have been keeping canaries for many years. Caring for birds is a big responsibility, but in return, these red factor canaries provide wonderful company and song.
One of the many tasks we complete this time of year is the pruning of my rose bushes. Pruning is about more than just looks; proper pruning 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 its shape, to keep the bush fresh and open, and to allow for better air circulation through the center of the plant. I have grown roses for more than 30-years. Many of the rose varieties I've purchased are highly prized for their petal formations and fragrances, so proper maintenance is very important to keeping them healthy and productive.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Here are some of the roses blooming last June. Many of the rose cultivars growing at my Bedford, New York farm were transplanted from the gardens at Lily Pond, my former home in East Hampton. I also have various David Austin roses – all highly prized for their lovely petal formations and beautiful fragrances. A rose is a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus Rosa, in the family Rosaceae. There are more than a hundred species and thousands of cultivars.
Many of my roses grow along all four sides of my perennial flower cutting garden fence.
Some also climb and spill over the sides.
These roses look fuller every year – in part because of regular pruning. We prune all the roses and cut any superfluous branches or shoots for better flowering and good health.
Here is what they look like just before any of the pruning begins.
Brian starts on one side and works his way around over the course of a couple days. In general, pruning is done before the plant breaks dormancy. This will be early in the year in warm climates, and anytime between January and April in cold climates. Every few minutes, he stops to evaluate the work he has done and to make sure he hasn’t missed anything that needs more trimming.
Brian assesses each bush from the bottom and starts cutting out any of the “three Ds” – dead, damaged, or diseased branches.
Cutting away the dead wood first helps to see the shape of the plant without distraction.
Dead wood is typically brown in color, so they are very easy to identify.
Healthy wood is always greenish white.
Brian also looks for any thin or twiggy canes – in general, those that are less than the diameter of a pencil. Here, he cuts a cane that is curved and not growing properly.
Rose stems are often armed with sharp prickles – they aren’t thorns at all. Unlike a thorn, a prickle can be easily broken off the plant because it is really a feature of the outer layers rather than part of the wood, like a thorn.
This rose has different sized prickles along its stems – they vary according to variety. And, while most roses have prickles, there are actually some that don’t have any at all.
Here, Brian shows where the cut should be made – always just above a bud eye. The “bud eye” refers to the area on the stem where branching occurs.
It’s also important to deadheads any old, spent blooms or ones that did not bloom completely. This is done to encourage more blooms and improve the appearance and shape of the rose.
Brian looks for stems that cross or rub together. Removing these from the bottom ensures better growth – when parts of a plant are pruned off it uses its energy to produce new stems and leaves.
This is a rose hip or rosehip, also called rose haw and rose hep. It is the accessory fruit, the seed pod, of the various species of rose plant. It is typically red to orange, but ranges from dark purple to black in some species.
Rose hips remain on the plant after the rose blooms fade. Rose hips are actually edible and many birds enjoy them. They also make great jellies, sauces, syrups, soups and seasoning, and even fruit leather.
Here, Ryan opens a rose hip to reveal the seeds inside.
Meanwhile, Pasang works on the climbers along the fence. Climbers take some dedicated work, but the end result is always so satisfying.
Here one can see how pruning improves the shape of the bush. All of these roses are well shaped in height and width.
Pruning also provides more air circulation between the branches.
In the middle of the garden, I also have six of these tower trellises. My climbers love these supports and grow beautiful blooms every season.
Of course, all the cuttings are collected and taken to the pile for chipping.
I am so proud of how well we maintain all our roses here at the farm. The basics of rose pruning are not difficult to learn, and the process triggers new buds to push at the base so that new vigorous canes can form. I can’t wait to see them all in bloom again come spring. How do you care for your roses this time of year? Share your comments in the section below.
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