The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1879-07-09
How to Prune Peach Trees.

IlOM W EllLt CdCll lICCSs
'It you can tell me how to prune
my peach trees so that they will bear
a full crop of fruit without breaking
down so badly, you will confer
favor upon me-" said friend of mine
the other day. Well, believing, as 1
do, that every person is in duty
bound to try to make the world bet
ter off by his being in it, will tell
your numerous and intelligent read
ers Il say intelligent readers, for 1
know they must of necessity be intel
ligent if they carefully read SO ably
conducted paper as the Press) how
1 prune my peach trees, in order to
keep them in good shape-healthy
and strong enough to bear up all the
fruit they are capable of maturing.
Before telling how 1 prune, will
tell you what l Fave observed about
the bearing and growth of peach
trees, especially on this coast When
the young tree has a good start it
branches out profusely, soon forms
many forks, with branches of equal
size, and if left to its own way (Which
is generally the case) it soon forms
dense top, starting near the ground,
and as rule here the tree is quite
full of fruit at two or three years old.
Four ifths of my two-year-olds were
so full of fruit last season that had
to thin ont two-thirds of it for the
benefit of the trees and the fruit. If
the tree is left to do its own pruning,
it soon kills all the lower branches,
and shoots the surviving ones up tall
and slender, badly forked and unable
to bear half crop of fruit without
breaking or splitting down. The
consequence is that the tree has to
start new top, to grow in like man.
ner, to share the same fate, until the
tree dies through exhaustion by ex-
cessive bearing and frequent break
ing.
Now let us 90 back to the young
tree and watch its progress. We
find that nearly all Of the small
branches that bore fruit last year are
dead this year, and the branches that
will bear fruit this year are much
higher up and more slender than last
wear; and the tree will still run up
and put out new branches for next
years crop By the time the fruit is
half grown the trees will be bent
over and break down if not propped
up, as they frequently are by those
who let trees prune themselves.
WELL" said my friend, chow are
you going to prevent it ?" l prevent
it by proper. pruning. Among the
numerous young shoots that start out
on the different sides Of a young tree,
select such as l want to form a
proper head, and cut the rest out.
In thus selection l begin pretty close
to the ground, and leave limbs on all
sides of the tree from six to ten
inches apart all the way up, and it
the tree is making forks anywhere l
cut one off, so as to keep the main
tree from forks. run up one main
stem with well shouldered limbs at
proper distances up either side, that
will balance each other, and shortened
in so that they will bear a proper
amount of fruit without breaking. /
do all this while my trees are young,
and don't wait until l have to take a
saw or an axe to do it with, but use
hand shears for the purpose; and by
so doing, I leave no ugly scars or ILL
shaped trees. If l find the trees too
full of young fruit to mature wei! |
90 through them and thin out with
my shears, until / think the tree can
we'll mature what is left.
"Well," some will say: II can't
stand all that-if can't have peaches
without so much care and trouble as
that, / will try some other fruit"
Well, you might as well, tor if you
neglect to prune and thin out your
fruit, most of your peaches will be
small and insipid, iu comparison to