Pruning our apricot tree

It's been a wet weekend, but we found a little time when the rain had eased off to finally get out into the garden.

I still hadn't pruned my fruit trees, which is a 'no no' when it comes to apricot trees. We should have done this job about a month ago.  However it still must be done, so with Papa's help with the heavier branches and the use of a chainsaw, we took at least 1/3 off our apricot tree today.

This apricot tree was planted with Maestro's help when he had turned one.  It's been growing so well and has given us many a wonderful crop. The problem is that it's now way beyond my reach on the upper branches.  Last year most of the fruit up the top was enjoyed by the birds.

There is a right way to prune a fruit tree to maximise your crop.  You really don't want to take off any fruiting spurs, so you need an eye on what to look for and just remove the newest growth that gives the tree height.  I'd first read about this in a book: The Complete Book of Growing Fruit and Nuts in Australia. (It's hard finding this on sale as it's not in print right now.  Thankfully my library still has a copy!) I have also recently found an online video explaining how to do this here.  The audio wasn't quite in synch here on my pc, but it may work fine for you.

This is another nice explanation of how to prune an apricot tree, at a larger scale.  The camera work is just not as steady for the close-ups.





We also have a problem with a fungal disease called 'Freckle'.  It started on one part of the tree last year, so I'm hoping pruning that branch off will minimise any return of it on the next crop.  I need to do some research on treatment now.  Argh!  My first experience with diseased fruit trees!