Maintenance and pruning of standard fruit trees

Maintenance

The regular maintenance of standard fruit trees is simple and involves providing:

• in winter, a shovelful of wood ash all around the trunk. Rich in potash, this addition helps to stimulate flowering and increase fruit yields.
• in spring, well-rotted compost by scratching it onto the surface, taking care not to damage the roots. Then, apply a mulch or simply mow the grass at the base of the trees.

Maintenance pruning

The pruning aims to maintain the harmonious structure of the tree, promote the circulation of air and light, and thus allow for better fruiting.

It is carried out every 3 to 5 years. Pip trees are pruned in winter (frost-free) until early spring, while stone trees are pruned in early autumn.

Always use tools (pruning shear, branch cutter) perfectly sharp that you disinfect between trees.

To do this:

• remove, if necessary, the suckers growing at the base of the tree and the water sprouts developing on the trunk of the tree,
• remove dead or broken branches, as well as those that cross each other,
• cut the twigs and some inner branches to allow air and light to circulate in the middle,
• trim the ends of the branches above a bud turned outward and favour horizontal branches. Don’t forget to coat the pruning wounds with a healing agent such as clay to prevent the appearance of fungi or diseases.