How to Prune Hawthorn Trees? Methods Differ at Each Growth Stage

Fruit tree pruning is a technical measure involving the removal of part of the tree's vegetative organs to adjust the canopy structure and renew the composition of branch types. Pruning work for fruit trees is extremely important, and the shaping and pruning methods differ at each growth stage. So how do you prune a hawthorn tree? The pruning methods differ at each growth stage!

I. Pruning of young trees

Young hawthorn trees grow relatively slowly and have weak vigor, and this is also the seedling establishment period for hawthorn trees. Pruning work at this stage is mainly focused on shaping, cultivating good scaffold branches, adjusting the growth direction and angle of scaffold branches, and laying the foundation for fruiting. Young trees within 3 years of growth should be heavily headed back, cutting branches without thinning them, to encourage the hawthorn tree to produce more robust branches, expand the canopy, increase the flowering rate, and achieve the goal of early fruiting. Main and lateral branches should be appropriately headed back. Moderately vigorous branches of medium strength should be given space to grow, increasing the number of branches and fruit set on the tree. Branches that are too dense or that would compete with scaffold branches for nutrients should be appropriately thinned out.

II. Pruning of trees beginning to bear fruit

At this stage, pruning should establish a good tree shape and cultivate various types of fruiting branches to increase the tree's yield and prepare for the transition to full production. The pruning direction is to thin out branches and cultivate fruiting branch groups. If auxiliary branches compete with scaffold branches for nutrients, the auxiliary branches should be thinned out in time, but they should not all be removed; some should be retained. Retained branches should be guided toward gentle growth to promote fruiting. Branches that have borne fruit for more than two years should be retracted in time to prevent fruiting on the outer periphery. Branches with sufficient growing space can be appropriately cultivated into fruiting branches, and overly dense or overly long branches should be thinned out.

III. Pruning of trees in full fruit period

The pruning direction for trees in full fruit period is similar to that for trees beginning to bear fruit, mainly focusing on tree shape and cultivating fruiting mother branches, controlling leaf quantity, appropriately adjusting the leaf canopy surface, renewing fruiting mother branches, preventing the phenomenon of alternate bearing, increasing yield, ensuring high and abundant production, and extending the full fruit period. The main pruning methods are heading back, retraction, and other means, properly controlling the ratio of fruiting branches to vegetative branches, thinning out peripheral branches, carrying out heading back, thinning flowers and fruits to concentrate nutrients, promoting the development of vegetative branches, and cutting out useless branches that are too long, too dense, or overlapping.

IV. Pruning of renewal trees

This period is when the fruit tree renews its fruiting mother branches. The tree's growth rate will decline noticeably, scaffold branches droop and lose strength, inner canopy branches suffer severe leaf drop, and a large number of overly dense water sprouts appear. However, hawthorn trees have relatively strong self-recovery ability. As long as water and fertilizer management is strengthened, intertillage and weeding work is done well, and appropriate pruning is carried out, the tree's vigor can be restored and the fruiting years extended. The pruning method is usually to retract scaffold branches at all levels each year and use water sprouts to re-cultivate fruiting branch groups.

The above is Tuliuwang's introduction to the shaping and pruning methods for hawthorn trees at four growth stages. Hawthorn trees have relatively tall and large tree shapes. If they are not pruned in time, the orchard becomes too closed, permeability is extremely poor, inner canopy branches receive insufficient light, and the flowering and fruiting rate declines, which will have a very large impact on planting benefits.