SUMMER PRUNING.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVII, Issue 32, 6 February 1913, Page 6

SUMMER PRUNING.

The obi-sots of summer pruning at this time of the year are mainly as follows: —To improve the form of the tree; to remove undesirable branches, which tend to make the head or top of the tree tob dense; to x-emove the necessity lor too severe summer prun-

ing. • 1 Young: trees which are making a one-sided development of an irregular growth can be trained into better^ form by •&. proper pinching back of the leading shoots in summer." Pinching "or heading back" are terms used to dosigiiate ie; cutting or pinching off of the tips of growing shoots. Trees which tend to make too upright ■growth at the expense of side branches can be induced to deveolp a spreading, symmetrical growth by summer pruning. The simple pinching back of the tips of the most vigorous shoots results in making the tree more dense and compact, -which is the exact thing to be avoided. In general then when pinching^ back is practised some thinning of shoots is. also necessary. The exception may occur with a very open spreading type of tree with but little growth 11? the centre, where the pinching back will simply check thespraw- j ling or yery. upright form of the ! growth without causing the centre to become- $00 dense. Cut out any shoots which tend ±0 grow upright directly in the centre of the tree, where several-yagorpus shoots develop within a few filches of each other, and tend to occupy the same space, remove all but one iii most cases. Pinch back the tips of all the leading, rapidlygrowing shoots', especially eny which tend to form an irregular or one-sided tree.