How to prune a walnut

Walnut pruning is a must in horticulture. It requires at least preparation, since one possession garden tools not enough.

How to get started

Everything in order:

1. From the very beginning, diseased or old parts of the plant are identified.
2. Shapes the future development of young branches.
3. Achieve yields and correct growth.

The pruning itself should be done at specific times of the year.

When should you trim?

Naturally, care begins in spring, before the development of shoots. The best time is March and April. How to properly trim the walnut in this case? You need to decide on the weather. When the nighttime drops in temperature, or, more simply, frosts have already ended, but the garden plants have not yet "come to life". This is the ideal period for work.

Another phase is leaving in the autumn. But it is performed for sanitary purposes, and not for the formation of the fetus. This will make it easier for the tree to endure the winter. If in the spring we were late with processing, then this option will not be superfluous. How to prune a walnut? Dry and diseased parts of the branches are removed. Otherwise, parasites will appear on the tree during the winter. Everything that is not needed in the future on a walnut tree must be cut off.

Major mistakes

Walnut pruning requires:

1. A quality, sharpened tool. Blunt pruning shears or saws leave marks that damage the trunk.
2. Competent processing. Sections do not need to be lubricated with decoctions or paints, because this is not a graft. The trunk of the plant will heal itself faster.
3. Do not start working at low temperatures. When it is far from June outside the window, the walnut branches are quite fragile and more difficult to remove.
4. Experiments. Yes, everything is according to the rules and regulations, but walnut pruning is not a dry instruction. And only empirically it is already possible to "help" the tree in the formation of the crown. But you should not get carried away with a pruner or a knife, otherwise the plant may die. As you get older, you can work on this a little harder.

More about the spring season

As already noted, after winter we try to form the crown of the nut.

You can start working with a young plant only after reaching a certain height - this is 1.5 or more meters.

Moreover, the trunk itself is at least 80 centimeters. And the crown is approximately 60 cm or more. For competent formation in the future, it is enough to leave 10 skeletal branches. And the shoots need to be shortened by 20 centimeters.

Video: Walnut Pruning:

What else is desirable to do:

1. Remove the stem processes.
2. The center is cut off only after the formation of fresh branches.
3. Remove fatty shoots.

Walnut pruning scheme in spring:

Can walnut be processed in summer?

Pruning of perennial walnut at the beginning of summer. This is roughly mid-June. This period is notable for not so active sap flow. It is allowed to work on the crown, freeing the tree from the branches that have grown inside.

But it is not advisable to touch a weak plant. Be sure to wait until the year when the tree gains strength. This is usually at least 2-4 years after planting. At first, not 10, but only 5 shoots are formed on it, cutting off all others in advance while the buds are swelling.

And on a two-year-old nut, all branches are cut, leaving only two buds. Moreover, one is the main, the second is the backup. And if both wake up, then they leave only one. For the next season, everything follows the same scheme - only one bud is left for the future.This is how good fruiting is achieved.

Even in young trees in the autumn season, shoots are cut if they have grown above 60 cm. It is advisable to do this in September.

Pruning for rejuvenation

This procedure is needed already on an adult tree, and is applied when a tendency towards a decrease in yield is noticeable. And also if the fetus is born with a smaller or irregular shape. Here you need to wait for spring. And cut down those branches that have grown taller than the rest. The crowns growing inward are also cut off. This is necessary to increase the amount of light, and it is much easier to collect a nut on branches of the same length.

Do not forget about the branches where there are side branches. They are also cut off. And in the future, new buds will appear, forming the already correct shoots for the fresh crown.

It also happens that the nut got frostbite, and everything was frozen to the root. In this case, you need to cut the trunk to a stump, and the plant will recover itself. Over time, you can form a fresh crown, you just need to wait for new branches.

Frozen crown must be leveled. And on such trees, already in the warm season, it is not forbidden to process small overgrown branches. Many annual shoots can form on them. And this is the basis for the future harvest.

Walnut crown formation - video