The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1918-06-14
Definite PLAN FOR
PRUNING IN SEASON
Work Must Necessarily Be Done
in Systematic Manner.
Where Problem Involves Management
of Extensive Commercial Planta-
tions Not Easy to Operate in
Miscellaneous Way.

prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture.)
"Prune when your knife is sharp"
used to be the advice Of earlier horti-
culturists. This is comparatively
safe method to follow with most
plants, but where the problem in
wolves the management of extensive
commercial plantations it is not so
easy to prune in this miscellaneous
fashion. The work must necessarily
be done at some particular season and
carried on in a systematic manner
after some definite plan. With most
orchardists and gardeners pruning can
best be done during the winter or
early spring months, and where the
object is the removal Of small
branches this season is undoubtedly
quite as satisfactory as any other. In
fact, pruning during late spring about
the time or just previous to beginning of
growth, is particularly advantageous
with the peach, because at that sea-
son, as a rule, all injury to the annual
growth from winter killing will be APP
parent and the primer can take adj
vantage Of this to remove all dead or
injured branches and at the same time
modify his plan so as to leave maxi
mum quantity of wood in order to Sc
cure a profitable crop Of fruit. which
might not be possible were the usual
practice of removing one-half the an
nual growth followed in such seasons.
With the apple and pear, which suf-
fer less from winter killing, the
annual pruning can as well be
done in February or March. in the
North, as at any other season. With
the grape, however, which is likely to
produce a heavy flow of sap if the
pruning is delayed until late in the
season, it is undoubtedly best to do
the pruning during the late fall and
early winter months.
There are several questions in con-
nection with this operation which are
not yet definitely settled for the diff
ferent fruits. Some growers hold that
late spring pruning tends to increase
the fruit supply and that fall or early
winter pruning increases the develop
ment of wood, particularly with the
grape. But, as there are no careful
records upon this point, one must nee
essarily be guided largely by convent
ence or, as in the case Of the peach,
climatic conditions. AS rule, it is
undoubtedly best to delay pruning as
late as possible where there is danger
of winter killing. In other cases,
where this injury is not likely to oc-
cur, it may be advantageous and
equally satisfactory to prune in the
late fall or early winter.
Convenience and climatic conditions
must be taken into consideration in
determining the period of pruning. In
the removal of large branches, how
ever, the work should be done at sea-
son when growth is at its height, in
order that the healing process may be-
gin at once and continue as long as
possible during the season in which
the cut is made. For this reason it is
O common practice among orchardists
to remove large branches of the apple
and pear about the time they come
into bloom, which is also about the
period of the beginning of active
growth.
The same rule will hold with Orna-
mental deciduous trees, except that
the period of blooming cannot be
taken as the basis. The gardener
must observe the time when annual
growth begins and regulate his prun-
ing accordingly.