STOP wasting TIME PRUNING your FRUIT TREES & do THIS instead!

[@kbennehoff]

Perfect timing, getting ready to do this soon. Hopefully the Cicadas coming this year won't damage any of our apple trees (6). Cheers from Illinois.

[@steveg9939]

I think I heard you explaining this LBL method 3 times but I still clicked on this video because I wanted to hear it again! Don’t worry, it’s not the teacher’s fault, it’s the student. I have to prune this winter for it to stick in my brain! Simple and easy

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Practice helps it stick, get it stick not branch. 🤣

[@jclivin5]

I’m 34 with 20 years of experience pruning around many variety of fruit trees so it’s always nice to learn from experience growers on different explanations on how to prune. Love this video!

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Way to go, shows you don't shy away from work. Well done.

[@shadytreez]

I works wonderfully for berries. I propogated my thornless boysnberry that way. What a great idea to give some to your neighbors to get less birds.

[@archiehendricks6093]

I am 70, grew up pruning, seen darmers change way they prune, less wood props, labor ect , easy access for ladder access. But develope my own art of pruning . I like japaneese styles but you be you and i be me.

[@johnlord8337]

Absolute easy technique that is logical and a no-brainer. Everybody planting fruit trees for their orchard - should be taught this (or handed this pruning manual) for their education. 10* video.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

We agree!

[@vickisavage8929]

It took plenty of brain, observation, attention, and practice for Stefan to develop his techniques. His genius is in observing what most people only see and in making and understanding the connections of what he observes. Professor Dr. George Washington Carver had the same gift from Higher Authority.

[@johnlord8337]

@@vickisavage8929 Always looking for the hanging branches and twigs, even the beyond-drooping branches and cutting them off and always have the upward or horizontal branches also stops the non-productive branch from fruiting on the end. Cutting out the open trunk air space for flow, and ~some~ sunlight on the bark/sap movement is good. Have multiple years of this research myself - and cleaning up people's orchards from their lack of pruning and maintenance.

[@ppetal1]

I appreciate this revision class of what you taught me last year. Just planted a mixture of expensive 3 year-olds on public land with permission, which I can confidently leave for a couple of years, except the last little bits, but my older pear was done in November and looks fab.❤

[@TibiTips]

Frumos explicat! Felicitări!

[@floydblandston108]

Learning on full sized trees way back when, I was told to prune "the chimney" (as you call it) so a bird could fly straight through the tree from any direction without touching a wing!

[@ADAWC]

Bless you!❤You a savior for the trees, the environment and me! You make planting so simple, easy and save time! Always love you videos!❤ Thank you so much!❤

[@StefanSobkowiak]

You are so welcome

[@brettiowausa1]

Very interesting. I just planted fruit trees so will definitely keep this in mind as I begin the pruning process. You are so correct there are many different approaches to pruning.

[@EclecticEcentric]

Love it! Thank you for all the information. LBL (Low, Big, Line)

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Thanks for watching!

[@stephanebinette7839]

Thank you Stéphane, i hope you Will do a new vidéos about the apple cultivar you keep and the one you eliminate over the year and why

[@StefanSobkowiak]

I only eliminate if too disease susceptible and if they are not tasty. Am considering eliminating (ie overgrafting) Trent as it ripens too late in our climate.

[@austinmackay6644]

Thanks for video

[@10mmj5]

Such great info ! Thank you Stefan !

[@StefanSobkowiak]

My pleasure!

[@homeismyvacation]

Thank you, was always told to trim the branches going straight upwards. Now we will try this new way on your vid and see how it goes.

[@EclecticEcentric]

Oh... and Hello from Newfoundland (our small acreage). Peace

[@peacefulgarden]

Lbl, low-big-line. Thank you Master

[@StefanSobkowiak]

You're very welcome, now go forth with confidence.

[@arcobalenonellorto8994]

LBL: low, big, line. Thank you for this video 💚 What a sincro...I wanted to prune some plums tree and I found this video 😉

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Glad it was helpful!

[@conquererification]

I have some wild apple tree and they are looking pretty nice. Hopefully I can do it to the older trees which are way more trouble.

[@kathleenmead9259]

thank you

[@baneverything5580]

I enjoy the bunnies in my yard but I have to plant some food for them too or they go in my garden. They like the leaves of peas and beans so I plant drought resistant types that make prolific vines around my yard and its borders and under fruit trees and the bunnies are happy, I get a harvest, the nitrogen helps the trees, and the vines shade the soil in summer.

[@CriaAndKiddFW]

Thank you Stefan! I'm just a bit south of you in New York in the Champlain Valley. My 16 acre property was a forclosure and older/neglected apple and pear trees. I'm getting ready to trim them in the next week or so, weather permitting. Any tips for rehabbing older apple trees? I've seen videos of people basically decapitating old trees for new growth. That scares me to do.

[@karabean]

There was a video that came out about a month ago where he talked about this. Go into his old videos and you'll see something like ' help your dying fruit trees by doing this' and like I said, it came out about a month ago, so it's like 4 videos down from the top

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Please don’t decapitate, steps one and three are really important on an old tree. Then remove 1-2 of the most upward branches per year. Year one may be just the old top to bring it down lower, then next year one or two largest upward side branches, year 3 repeat again. FOCUS on main branches and within 3 years you should have a much easier to manage, more productive and smaller tree.

[@CriaAndKiddFW]

@StefanSobkowiak thank you! I thought that would be better. They had a lot of apples last season, but there were lots of bugs. I saw your video on hanging traps and will do that until I can get them in better hearth the next few years. It's definitely a project, but I'm up for it. I'm planning on planting allium and lavender or chamomile around the base for companion planting and adding raspberries and plum for diversity.. The one pear tree had the best fruit. It just needs to be given some TLC. ❤️

[@CriaAndKiddFW]

@larshildebrandt3835 that's the plan! I love watching Stefan and how excited he gets walking in his orchards. I hope to be there one day. I'm surrounded by monoculture large-scale commercial apple growers. I just want my little backyard permaculture orchard and garden for my family.

[@vf5126]

My recommendation to do-it-yourselfers is: remove anything growing straight up off the top of a limb, straight down, or toward the center of the tree. That’s usually 85% of the job..

[@Blynn-md4dx]

You make this entertaining and easy to understand.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

You get it, that’s exactly what pruning should be. FUN.

[@johncopeland2324]

Low big line. Love this guy

[@lalogascoine3388]

Great explanation! Thank you!

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@marklam8548]

We should reallyvauestion this big branch pruning off! Especially homeowners, unless the are very narrow tree splitting brach types ...which usually can be shortened to parts which won't be yo heavy with fruit or wind...😮

[@entrepreneursfinest]

I train my trees initially and do some pruning but after they get on up I leave them alone unless there's a problem. I'm not home enough with the type of work I do to have a consistent management plan.

[@hummingbirdforestgarden]

Excellent!! Thank you!!

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mandersson6754]

Great tips. Should I also pollish my stonefruits?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Yes otherwise you would need to shorten the branches to lighten the load.

[@fjalar4856]

Thank you! Low, big, line🙏

[@StefanSobkowiak]

You got it!

[@1948c170]

Hi Stefan - thanks for the great videos, learning a lot about managing my 30+ trees. Question - what blade do you have on your pole saw? Mine just gets hung up on small branches. Does fine with big stuff, but I am looking for something that will work more like yours seems to. Thanks!

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Kind? Sold as Pruning pole saw, or pruning saw. Hung up usually because it's getting dull or you are cutting too far down the branch. Cutting at the trunk is a firm cut. Glad the vids help. Cheers.

[@lindataylor7718]

I’m still so confused about pruning apple trees. I’ve watched all your videos and all of Tom Spellmans videos. You both have really different techniques. Do you summer prune? What height should I let me trees get?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

I don’t summer prune. Ideally don’t prune until it blooms instead train branches downward. Do step one and three it makes it easier to see the trees’ structure.

[@BeatFiction]

Baum- u. Rebschule Schreiber 👌

[@minapostman2784]

I followed the advice about leaving some low branches. I then allowed my chickens into the orchard area since my trees were big enough after 10 years that they couldn’t scratch them up. I did not anticipate that the chickens would start CLIMBING my trees and eating the apples. 🙄. So I’ll be putting a fence up again.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Hahaha chickens are certainly jungle fowl still and will even roost up in your fruit trees.

[@stefanostassi2577]

Really nice video like always, problem is this Is 90% of the informations in the pruning course( really helpfull and clear informations)...keep asking myself why i buy it

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Stefano unfortunately often people REALLY pay attention to information when they pay. I will gladly give you a full refund if you just ask.

[@stefanostassi2577]

Ok then, date of payment 20.01.2024, visa *5996 , hope this can help you

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Mostly hope it helps you.

[@texxitexxi]

I'm doing it the same way, because I want to be able to climb my trees and grow them bigger.

[@janet-Spirit_of_the_Living_God]

That's a central leader trained tree. Does the same work for the other trained trees, with maybe 3-4 chimneys each? I've never had central leader fruit trees.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Yes it can if they are sufficiently spaced, treat each like a smaller individual tree.

[@denisebishop9276]

Always thought the branches that were straight up on a main branch were considered suckers and have to be taken off?

[@kingjames4886]

I hate when I get branches in my chimney... I've also found a lot of the info out there about fruit trees is kinda just not true... idk if it's just the telephone effect, advice from other climates that doesn't apply where I am, or there's some active effort by orchardists to spread misinformation. the best source of information seems to be department of agriculture pamphlets from the 40s-70s or so, back when they put effort into that sort of thing.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

When it was harder to cut branches they used different techniques. No disinformation meant just people tend to teach and write what they originally learned. Techniques progress, people often don’t.

[@kingjames4886]

@@StefanSobkowiak I mean ya, realistically people can only really manage to see a couple generations of trees out in their lifetime, and probably fewer have passed on what they learned assuming their trees would pass on as proof.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

100%

[@kamilawolniewicz6131]

💕💕💕

[@redbinary]

Does this all apply directly to cherries as well? I'm especially curious if the desired angle of the branch for a cherry would be "horizontal or below"?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

I believe cherry is below. Pear is horizontal.

[@salcaizabela7774]

Is this applicable to cherry and prune trees?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Yes

[@olivierhue6957]

Bonjour Stefan, pensez-vous proposer les classes de maître en langue française ?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Au Quebec sur la taille? Possible.

[@bowreality1564]

Can I train anytime of the year or is there a season??

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Train when the branches bend easily and you have time. Usually the green season.

[@bowreality1564]

@@StefanSobkowiak thank you!

[@erwinbrubacker7488]

High density, tall spindle tree trimming; check it out !

[@benjamin593]

Thisnisna great method to guarantee ladder or telescoping fruit picker harvest. This is not appropriate for all rootstocks or all fruit varieties. It will work like he says though. But you will work at harvest time too.

[@karabean]

'Thisnisna' not sure if you're say this is is this isn't

[@benjamin593]

@@karabean I think the context explains the typo. My apologies

[@StefanSobkowiak]

It depends on how many branches you want to leave high. As long as the main trunk goes higher and is curved down it’s easier to keep all the other branches downward and reachable with an orchard ladder, even on a mature standard.

[@benjamin593]

@StefanSobkowiak But if you keep the central leader high, the crotch formed by the branches pulled low will be below a 90 degree angle and will not be as strong and eventually break. 90 degree crotches form the most uniform and strongest branches. But bringing branches low like that should induce precocity due to increased apical hormones pooling from the angle. But then you have to lighten the loads of fruit on the branches for several seasons.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

True, details matter. The best branch is one that emerges from the trunk horizontally or below horizontal. Not one that goes up and then goes below horizontal. May require training in first or second year. Yes that induced precocity is critical to getting a long term easy, lower tree. Step 3 does the lightening of the load for a few years. I don’t fertilize, have not in 15 years so the tree responds more naturally.

[@prozdrowotny]

co zrobic jak stare drzewko, które ma nie wiem z 50 lat jest dla mnie za wysokie a jeszcze babcia powstawiała jakieś podpórki? mogę przyciąć pień dość nisko i pousuwać te podparte gałęzie? to drzewo to są ze 3 drzewa razem, tzn ma ze 3 pnie

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Cut them at the trunk or shorten them if they need support.

[@syljay4257]

Low Big Line

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Excellent!

[@kingjames4886]

7:50 aren't those fruiting spurs though?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Yes some are spurs but the weakest or oldest ones.

[@kingjames4886]

@@StefanSobkowiak so much contradictory info out there, eh? every other resource says to leave those :S

[@StefanSobkowiak]

For me pruning is all about the time invested in a tree and the results. Older techniques give similar results in the end but take so much more time over the life of the tree. Since i’ve implemented these techniques I’ve cut my pruning time by 80%.

[@my_permaculture]

Rule 2: 12-15 branches..... 13 is part of the Fibonacci sequence. ❤

[@hollymorhart6990]

❤

[@MalinaImport]

boom boom up the tree :~)

[@tgardenchicken1780]

low big line

[@victorvegan9988]

Youll never cut big branches if you want your tree to stay Healthy and get old. If we're talking about plantations, where you just swap them as they get old, ok, but for homeowners this is bad advice. Fruit trees are bad at healing wounds. Youll have funghi creeping into the trunk very fast, decreasing the lifespan dramatically. Never cut more than 5 cm unless its really necessary. Ideally youll never use a saw because you prune on time with your pruners. And im not speaking from videos or hearsay, im working as an arborist and actally theres quite good research about healing of pruning wounds. Look for sth like Oeschberg-Palmer cut. Fruit tree cutting unfortunatly is a bit more complex than that, because unless you understand the phisiollgy of the tree and how it works, youll always gonna treat it like a thing instead of an individual living being. But luckyly you can do a lot with just understanding the basics, you dont have to know everything!

[@DawnaRo]

Over $200 per course? So much for free. I guess "getting started free" means it's free to give your name and email.

[@vf5126]

Man, that was ten wasted minutes.. Back the camera away to show the entire tree. Are you in a free-standing orchard or an espaliered line? What are you trying to achieve? Do you actually plan to remove that well formed scaffold limb? ..thought I’d check out what my pruning clients are finding on KZbin.. No wonder they keep calling me back 🙂

[@edinburghtreesurgeons]

If this guy was a good professional he would be able to tell us all why, scientifically, his ideas are valid, he doesn't do this therefore he is a crank

[@Wethecenter]

Remember when your videos were informative and not some crap reel trying to suck in The people with 10 sec attention spans…. Do better ,less click bait crap

[@archiehendricks6093]

Snaping off spurs is future fruit. Those trees look like shit

[@archiehendricks6093]

I donot like neglecting pruning then big cuts and they end up dead rooten wood . Diseased. Dum

[@drillsergeant623]

Stop doing this & start doing this. Most of your videos.

[@benjaminficus9738]

I've been pruning apples professionally for over 50 years, and this guy's approach is oversimplistic BS.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Well Benjamin I understand your view, you benefit from more pruning needed or recommended. This over simplistic approach was developed in France because they could no longer afford to prune as much due to labour cost. I have learned as a grower you don’t make money with maintenance. The only ones who make money are the ones paid for doing maintenance.

[@thomasgargano8813]

Thank you very much for this advice, you made it so easy to understand the pruning process. I hope I’ll have a bountiful harvest this year.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺☮️☮️☮️

[@StefanSobkowiak]

I’ve seen and heard of tremendous harvest in the fall after applying these steps with many fruit species.