Low Growth On Fruit Trees
Categories:
Fruit Growing
Should the little twigs an the lower parts of young fruit trees be
removed or shortened?
An important function which these small shoots and the foliage which
they will carry perform is in the thickening of the larger branches to
which they are attached and overcoming the tendency of the tree to
become too tall and spindling. This can be done at any time, even to the
pinching of young, soft shoots as they
ppear. It must be said, however,
that in ordinary commercial fruit growing little attention is paid to
these fine points, which are the great enjoyment of the European
fruit-gardeners and are of questionable value in our standard
orcharding. It is, however, a great mistake to clear away all low twigs,
for such twigs bring the first fruit on young trees.
Are Tap-Roots Essential?
Is it better to plant a nut or seed or to plant a grafted root; also is
it better to allow the tap-root to remain or not in event of planting a
grafted root?
It does not matter at all whether the tree has its original tap-root or
not. All tap-roots are more or less destroyed in transplanting and the
fact that not one per cent of the walnut trees now bearing crops in
California consist of trees grown from the nut itself planted in place,
is sufficient demonstration to us that it is perfectly practicable to
proceed with transplanting the trees. It is more important that the tree
should have the right sort of soil and the right degree of moisture to
grow in than that it should retain the root from which the seedling
started. The removal of the tap-root does not prevent the tree from
sending out one or several deep running roots which will penetrate as
deeply as the soil and moisture conditions favor. This is true not only
of the walnut but of other fruit trees.