pruning fruit trees

louise_1981

As I have posted on other threads, I have a new house, new garden etc.

Main concern is the fruit trees.

I am not sure of what they are, but I do want to take care of them in case they are fruitful (pardon the pun). Is this time of year the right time to be pruning. I was going to have a go at the thorny bush in the front tomorrow as it is blocking a lot of light in the porch, which I was going to use to sow some seeds.

I would have thought it was too cold, although I have noticed a few bud of leaves.

Cacran

Why don't you try asking a neighbour, that is assuming you have one close to? they may know what they are. what about contacting the previous owner? I don't suppose it would kill them if you left them this year and see how they develop, you would then be able to identify them by the fruit. Good luck anyway. I have just got an allotment and am feeling my way around it, the same way you are.

Lord_Gardener

This is the time for pruning apples and pears when dead, diseased and damaged growth should be removed whilst the tree is dormant! Leave cherries and plums to early summer so they don't get hit by silver leave disease! Summer pruning is usually for restricting growth and promoting fruit bud formation. If you need the light, prune back now, the tree/shrub will always grow back! Might be worth looking at BBCsite for pruning techniques if you're not sure what to do!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/pruning_pruneappletrees.shtml

navig8r

louise_1981 wrote:

As I have posted on other threads, I have a new house, new garden etc.

Main concern is the fruit trees.

I am not sure of what they are, but I do want to take care of them in case they are fruitful (pardon the pun). Is this time of year the right time to be pruning. I was going to have a go at the thorny bush in the front tomorrow as it is blocking a lot of light in the porch, which I was going to use to sow some seeds.

I would have thought it was too cold, although I have noticed a few bud of leaves.

Have I read this correctly..your fruit trees have thorns??

Dave

louise_1981

there is a thorny bush in the front garden, BUT, on closer inspection, yes the bushes in the back garden do have thorns, well more spines.

May be it is these http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/gooseberry.html

I hope so, I love gooseberrys, was just complaining the other week that the supermarkets do not seem to stock them.

angie_loves_veg

How big is the thorny bush?

Gooseberries grow to a max of about 6' wide, 3' tall. (mine is only a year old and maybe 2' wide, 1'tall!) I do so love gooseberries too - def worth waiting for

Something much larger could be sloe for example.

louise_1981

It is about 3ft tall by about two ft

A sloe would be good too, worked for the rspb once and went up to a farm to plant hedge rows, this must have been nov, it was blowing a hoolie and the farmer's wife gave us all sloe gin 'to warm us up' baring in mind this was 11am.

Just looked up a sloe, certainly not that big! Although, I wish I had known this before, there was one on my way to college, when I lived in Crewe

navig8r

If posible I would leave things as they are for this year to see what developes and what you can identify as a result.. If you start you may be cutting off the shoots on which the trees/bushes will fruit on as each one will have dif methods and times of pruning. Edit : Sloes , the fruit of the Blackhthorn are the mass of white flower one sees in the over grown hedge rows early in the spring.

Dave