The Columbus journal., 1899-04-12


The Ohio Experiment Station sends
Sut the following: A number Of ini
Quiries have come to the Ohio Expert
ment Station concerning the best
method Of treatment Of fruit trees
which have been injured by freezing.
Il may Be said. in the beginning. that
. frosen branch Is Of no use to the
tree. and the best thing that can Be
dcne 10 to remove all parts that are
seriously affected. The questions
which naturally arise are when
should pruning be done and how much
Of the top shall be removed?
It II well to wait until 1t is possible
to determine about how much injury
has been done, rs shown by the dis
colored wood and shriveled bark.
Usually one warm spell is q sumcient
length Of time to wait, but it Is pos
Sible to defer the work too long. as
the frozen wood seems to have . del
eterious effect upon the sound parts.
II not removed before growth COM
mences. During March. and in some
cases even ~ late as April. the prun-
jng should be done. The quantity OF
wood to be removed will be deter
mined. in most cases. by the extent Of
the injzry; but in the case Of peach
and soEoe varieties Of plum trees an
important exception may be men
toned. These ought to be pruned
moro severely than merely to remove
injured wood. except where they are
killed to the snow line. and In such
. case it is doubtful if they can be
saved at all.
Peach trees which are from three to
i've years old and have never been
pruned to any extent need special at
tention. In case the injury to such
trees does not extend beyond the twigs
and small branches. the best thing
that can be done is to cut on all the
branches to within one or three feet
Of the body Of the tree. A tree five
years old. which has been allowed to
grow at will. may have long. slender
branches. six to ten feet in length.
with most of the fruit-bearing wood
near the extremities. Such q tree
needs topping. even If crop has to be
sacrificed in order to get it into proper
shape. To cut out half the top from
such q tree will improve succeeding
crops and prolong the life of the tree.
This puts the pruning upon different
basis. It is to be done not merely to
remove dead wood, but to get the
trees into shape for future usefulness.
With this object in view the trees are
to be so pruned that they can carry
the next crop of fruit without break
ing down. OF course it will be neces-
eary to cut of limbs of considerable
size. in many cases. and it will not be
possible to avoid naked stubs.
This can be remedied the next sea-
son. however. at which time surplus
branches may be removed also. Incl
dentally. 1t should be stated that some
cutting back is necessary each season,
in order to keep the trees in, proper
form. This method of pruning peach
trees has SO many advantages, that
the loss Of this seasons crop will real
~ prove to be blessing to those who
take advantage of the present oppor-
tunity to get their trees into proper
shape. In case of young trees which
have been planted only one or two
years. 1t may be found that the injury
extends to the trunk, and possibly to
near the ground. II there is life above
the bud the best thing to do is to cut
the entire top away as far as there
appears to be injury, and start a new
top. II cut of early in the season.
however. the stump is apt to become
dry. as shown by cracking. To pre-
vent this the end should be covered
with wax. or some material that will
prevent the escape of moisture.
American and japanese varieties of
plums should be treated in the same
manner as peach trees. and possibly
sweet cherries also. Apple and pear
trees will probably need no pruning
Of tho kind mentioned.