Fitzgerald enterprise. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1895-1912, 1904-01-26
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PRUNING THE PLUM.
Severe Measures For the Japanese
and Hybrid Varieties.

and Hybrid Varieties.
The pruning of the Burbank plum
tree presents a unique problem. The
men who are handling this variety with
more or less success at the present
time have all adopted severe methods
of repressive pruning. Each man has
simply cut back in sheer desperation
to prevent his Burbank trees from slop-
ping all over the orchard or from wan
dering off to his neighbours farm.
When this severe cutting back is
practiced the difficulty Is in some ways
emphasized, A tree severely cut back,
as every one knows, will tend to grow
still more rapidly. The rampant habit
of the tree is made still worse. So far
from being a remedy, therefore, heavy
winter pruning is very unsatisfac-
tory palliative. 1t is possible, theoret-
ically at least, to check this tendency
toward overgrowth by doing some sum-
mer pruning. This has actually been
put into successful practice in some
| cases. have done it myself in small
way, and j. H. Hale Of peach fame
has done the same thing on a larger
scale. 1t ought not to be very difficult,
therefore, to strike a balance between
these two tendencies-that is, between
winter pruning and summer pruning.
The plan which am following until
| get Il better one is this: l cut back
the trees severely each spring. Where
growth of four feet has been made /
| take off all but eighteen inches. In
fact, it is best to cut back closer than
| that rather than to leave more wood.
This will depend somewhat on the con-
| dition Of the tree, however. The sum-
mer pruning begins about the middle Of
June in this latitude, or possibly a lit
| tie earlier. At first the weaker side
shoots on the interior of the tree are
pinched back. These are not the ones
which cause the difficulty usually, and
| they are therefore frequently over
| looked. / think it is best to save them
in this way, however, because they
make the most prolific fruit spurs in
case they are properly handled. Cut
ting them back this way to length of
| two to six inches usually develops a
| large number of fruit buds in this part
; Of The tree.
Later III the season, say July / to 10,
another summer pruning is given. This
time the growth of the main branches
| Is stopped by clipping off the tips. In
few cases entire green shoots are re-
moved, even though they have attained
a length of three or four feet. This is
done, however, only in cases where the
| top of the tree seems likely to be
choked. The object of the principal
pruning is simply to stop the excessive
growth Of the main branches. This
tends to cause the wood to ripen up
earlier, and it tends also to weaken
| the growing force Of the tree.
This method of pruning, though
somewhat roughly outlined, for the
Burbank plum is applicable to nearly
| all of the japanese and hybrid varie-
| ties. In fact, it seems to me to be one
Of the necessities for the early future
that we shall adopt some definite
| scheme Of treating these new varieties
| in some such way. although Album
| dance, Chabot, Wickson, Gonzales and
other plums of those classes do not de-
mand attention so urgently as the Bur
bank. Yet they are all rank growers
and all stand in constant need Of re-
| pressive pruning.-F. A. Waugh, Yer
mont, In Rural New Yorker.