Fort Bend County Master Gardeners

Fort Bend County Libraries will present the program “New Fruit Trees for Fort Bend County,” on Thursday, Jan. 10, beginning at 6:30 p.m., in the meeting room of the Bob Lutts Fulshear/Simonton Branch Library, located at 8100 FM 359 South in Fulshear.

Fort Bend County Master Gardener Deborah Birge will talk about which trees thrive in our part of the country and how to grow them. The discussion will include how to plant, fertilize, and maintain them. Ms. Birge will also discuss some of the new varieties of fruit trees, including some that will be available at the Fort Bend County Master Gardener Annual Fruit and Citrus Tree Sale on February 9, 2019 at the George Pavilion at the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds in Rosenberg.

Why Do We Prune?

Fruit trees are pruned to aid in the health of the tree, and to increase the quality of the fruit.  When pruning for health, remember to remove any limb that crosses and rubs against another limb.  This can create a wound inviting disease and pests.  Remove all limbs growing downward or an inconvenient place.  Additionally, remove any water sprouts.  These are limbs that grow vertically from an existing scaffold limb. Lastly, remove any growth coming from the roots or below the graft union.  This is your root stock growing, not the variety of tree you purchased.

Pruning Structures

This image shows the cuts needed to achieve the central leader structure.  Upon planting, the tree, or whip, is cut to two to three feet tall with all side limbs removed.  It is allowed to grow the first year.  The winter after planting, the cuts bring back chosen scaffold branches by one-third.  Scaffold branches need a strong crotch, need to grow around the trunk at even intervals allowing sunlight to hit each branch and only one upward growing branch will be left as the new leader.  The third year is a repeat of the second-year pruning in addition to the pruning for health as discussed earlier.

Open Center

This image describes the method used to create the open center.  At planting, the tree is trimmed to 2-3 feet tall with all side limbs removed.  You can begin training the tree with a summer prune or wait until it is dormant again.  Either way, the central leader is removed, three or four strong branches are chosen as scaffold limbs and the tree is pruned for health, as previously discussed.  Scaffold limbs should be equally spaced around the trunk to allow sunlight on all branches.  Scaffold limbs need strong crotches of around 45 degree angles.  You can train one tier of scaffold branches or two.  If two is your choice, be sure to leave a distance of eight to twelve trunk inches between the tiers.

Natural Structure

Trees that are chosen to be grown with their natural structure need only pruning for health.  This can be done when the trees are dormant or, as in the case of citrus, after the final freeze.  This is usually early March in our area.

Finally, it is good to remember that your tree will live.  Pruning very rarely results in death.  Should you make a mess of it, the tree will repair itself and you can try again next year.  Lastly, invest in the proper tools and keep them clean.  Reduce the spread of disease by disinfecting your tools with a 10% bleach solution after pruning each tree.