Pruning Deciduous Fruit Trees: Open Center and Central Leader Forms with Orin Martin

Alan Chadwick Garden Manager Orin Martin explains two forms deciduous fruit trees can be pruned to: open center and central leader. He then demonstrates these pruning techniques on fruit trees in the garden.
To learn more about farming & gardening techniques and to follow along with other Center for Agroecology programs visit:
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Twitter: @ucscagroecology

[@nux1719]

Great video. Very informative, and a pleasure to watch. Saved to my favorites so I can reference.Thank you for posting.

[@ucscagroecology]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@phoebehastings1764]

Thank you so much for putting this info online

[@ucscagroecology]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ol4509]

Best channel on KZbin.

[@ucscagroecology]

Thank you kindly. Glad it was helpful.

[@bethg479]

Pruning has never made sense to me, then enter these videos and Orin Martin. Pruned my apples with confidence and look forward to establishing a small home orchard in the coming years. Thank you Orin!

[@ucscagroecology]

Glad to help! Below is a link to several dozen more fruit tree care videos. Scroll down to the section called: “Getting Started with Fruit Trees Organically”: agroecology.ucsc.edu/resources/instructional-videos.html

[@ucscagroecology]

Here's another good video with Orin on pruning: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppCQl2lnZdd5e7c

[@5kidslater1]

Such an excellent demonstration!

[@ucscagroecology]

Thanks! Good luck with your trees.

[@carakellmeyer5037]

Completely brilliant information. Thank you!

[@ucscagroecology]

Glad it was helpful!

[@daviddiong3709]

Great video, science-based pruning techniques; great teaching and demo.

[@ucscagroecology]

Glad it was helpful!

[@geologotejano]

Nice video. Thanks

[@ucscagroecology]

Glad you liked it!

[@paleodictyoptera]

Hello, I greatly enjoy your teaching videos. You often are using examples from apple trees, how much does what you teach with respect to pruning apply to other Prunus, e.g., cherries, plums, apricots, pears and peaches? many thanks,

[@ucscagroecology]

Great to hear the videos are helpful. The stone fruits you mentioned don't grow well in Santa Cruz, CA because we don't get the summer heat needed to ripen the fruit. Sooo...apple and pears do great in Santa Cruz so that's why we focus on the trees. But Orin has done a few videos on peaches and plums. You can find them in this "playlist" of tree care videos: www.youtube.com/ watch?v=9ioGcl7gHgc&list=PLdNOdHei9NV0QjOJDbUTx6wgD-qkiNGah And don't miss Orin Martin's award winning book, "Fruit Trees for Every Garden: An Organic Approach to Growing Apples, Pears, Peaches, Plums, Citrus, and More". His book won the 2020 American Horticultural Society (AHS) Award, recognizing outstanding gardening literature. You can purchase the book here: a.co/d/glwePid

[@larrypollman5243]

Hi Orin. I can’t tell you how much I love your instruction. I have a question: on the open center tree, why do you head the tips of the leaders to extend growth when they are already doing that?

[@larrypollman5243]

By the way, I just bought your book.

[@ucscagroecology]

Hi Larry, heading back a branch will help to thicken and strengthen the branch to that it will be able to support the weight of the fruit. It also stimulate growth extension. If the branch is simply allowed to keep growing, it will tend to get weak and skinny and may start to drop towards the horizontal resulting in loss of growth vigor on that branch. Below is a link to several dozen more fruit tree care videos. Scroll down to the section called: “Getting Started with Fruit Trees Organically”: agroecology.ucsc.edu/resources/instructional-videos.html Don't miss Orin Martin's award winning book, "Fruit Trees for Every Garden: An Organic Approach to Growing Apples, Pears, Peaches, Plums, Citrus, and More". His book won the 2020 American Horticultural Society (AHS) Award, recognizing outstanding gardening literature. You can purchase the book here: www.amazon.com/Fruit-Trees-Every-Garden-Approach/dp/0399580026/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3N8Y1MP3KB6DZ&keywords=orin+martin&qid=1650397395&s=books&sprefix=orin+martin%2Cstripbooks%2C522&sr=1-1

[@claywhitenack]

Great video. I purchased some apple trees online and they are just large whips with no branches. What should be done to encourage branching?

[@paulmaxwell8851]

This answer is too late, but prune off about the upper third of your tree, just past a bud. That will stimulate new growth.

[@aruarbax3258]

Dear sir What are best books for temperate fruits which includes all the issues

[@carakellmeyer5037]

I have questions. #1. What was the book on the desk near the drawings? #2. Can anything be done with an overgrown apple tree. I have moved into a yard in which these neglected fruit trees need help.

[@ucscagroecology]

The book is "Modern Fruit Science: Orchard and Small Fruit Culture" by Norman Childers. Yes, you can restore an overgrown apple tree to a healthy form and size. The key is to only prune back no more than 1/4 or 1/3 of the tree per year. Prune back the entire tree at once and you'll likely get a mass of wild growth that is hard to shape and control.

[@notbatman1001]

Is the open center more susceptible to snow damage than a modified central leader?

[@paulmaxwell8851]

Bruce, we live in snow country (British Columbia, Canada) and have both types: some central leader trees, some open center trees, all just a few years old. I can't honestly say I've seen much difference when it comes to snow damage. The only time we had broken branches was one summer when I stupidly neglected to thin the apples: the heavy crop broke them.

[@notbatman1001]

@@paulmaxwell8851 Thanks, Paul. That's encouraging! I'll give both methods a try.

[@adryawebb2556]

Is it too late to prune newly planted trees if they are leafed/budded out?

[@ucscagroecology]

No, but prune right away. Yes, you can prune it now. Apple trees should be pruned both winter and late summer. Winter pruning stimulates growth and shapes the over structure of the tree. Summer pruning "fine tunes" the structure and helps to stimulate the growth of fruit buds and fruiting laterals. These two videos will tell you have to do both: Here's a video on winter pruning of apple trees: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppCQl2lnZdd5e7c Here's a video on summer pruning: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5rSeJaibMx7ncU

[@surfearth1]

So in the first case, why not open center pruning?

[@ucscagroecology]

Below is a link to several dozen more fruit tree care videos. Lots of questions answered. Scroll down to the section called: “Getting Started with Fruit Trees Organically”: agroecology.ucsc.edu/resources/instructional-videos.html