Old or tired sweet and sour cherry trees can be rejuvenated through targeted and expert pruning measures. The resulting renewal of the crown results in the formation of new shoots, more flowers and better yields.
Can you rejuvenate cherry trees?
Cherry trees can be rejuvenated through targeted pruning measures to stimulate shoot growth and renew the crown. Partial rejuvenation or total rejuvenation can be used, depending on the condition of the tree and the crown design.
Rejuvenation is intended to stimulate shoot growth, renew the outdated branch structure and fruit wood and limit the circumference of the crown to such an extent that care and harvest are made easier. The timing and technique of rejuvenation are determined by the type of crown design, the natural shoot growth of the crown and the nutritional status of the tree. Trees with weak shoots and high yields must be rejuvenated earlier than those with strong growth and moderate yields.
Partial rejuvenation
Partial rejuvenation prevents the entire crown from aging and the older parts of the crown from becoming bald. Crowns that are kept in shape by regular pruning require vigorous pruning from time to time to maintain their performance:
- cut back the removed fruit wood of the secondary and side branches to the next fruit base, extending the cut to the entire crown,
- cut off inwardly growing and crossing branches as well as diseased and dead branches down to the he althy wood,
- fertile, weakly growing crowns are to be put back more strongly, strongly growing, less abundantly bearing crowns are weaker.
Total rejuvenation
For trees with a natural crown structure, the crown is rejuvenated at an advanced age after the yields and fruit quality have decreased and the lower inner branches have become bare. Since the tree will replace the lost crown in a few years and the not insignificant wounds will have healed, additional fertilization must be combined with the rejuvenation. Tillage and irrigation should not be neglected during this time.
In order to restore an aging crown, strong intervention in the branch structure is necessary:
- The scaffold branches and the trunk extension are removed down to the stumps, taking the sap scale into account,
- 1-2 branches are left on the stumps as guests,
- the crown should be made narrower towards the top.
Tips & Tricks
The success of rejuvenation is questionable in the case of completely aged crowns if diseases such as cancer, tree fungus, gum flow, etc. have already taken over and large parts of the crown have died.
