The cultivation of fruit trees is all about obtaining a high proportion of fruit wood. The aim of this guide is to provide home gardeners with practical information about the importance of this central category of branches within the crown.
What is fruitwood in fruit trees?
Fruitwood is the collective term for subordinate shoots in the branch hierarchy of a fruit tree crown that bear flowers and fruit. It is created when there is a stable crown structure made up of leading and side shoots and can be rejuvenated over time through pruning measures.
Fruitwood – Definition
Collective term in fruit tree pruning for all subordinate shoots within the branch hierarchy of a crown that bear flowers and fruit.
By definition, fruit wood is not part of the permanent framework of fruit trees. The branches can age over time, bearing smaller and smaller fruits. For this reason, older fruit wood is subjected to fruit wood pruning, which is aimed at the growth of young fruit shoots.
When and where does fruit wood form in the crown? – Example apple tree
When growing fruit trees, it requires a little patience until the first fruit wood develops in the crown. Although much of pruning care is directed toward the growth of fruiting branches, wood occupies a subordinate position in the branch hierarchy. The following timeline shows, using the apple tree as an example, when and where the first fruit wood usually appears within a round crown:
- Duration of upbringing until the first apple harvest: on average 4 to 12 years, depending on height
- In the first few years: growth of the trunk, trunk extension and 3 to 5 leading branches
- Side branches thrive on the leading branches as scaffolding branches
- The first fruit branches, each with a flower bud, sprout from the permanent side branches
- The following year the fruit branches branch out into fruit wood with flowers and fruits
This growth behavior can be transferred to most types of fruit trees in the home garden in a modified manner. Regardless of the differences between stone and pome fruit, you can only expect fruit wood to grow once a stable crown structure has developed with fruit branches that branch out into fruit wood.
An apple tree has the best fruit wood on the short fruit spears that come from the two-year-old fruit branches. Only a well thought-out system of leading and side shoots creates the basis for the growth of fruit wood.
Special forms of fruit wood – a brief overview
When reading instructions about pruning fruit trees, you will come across various technical terms that have a direct connection to fruit wood. We have compiled the most common terms with information about their meaning for you below:
- Fruit spike: very short, one-year side shoot on a two- or perennial branch with a terminal flower bud
- Bouquet shoot: short shoots appearing on stone fruits with numerous flower buds
- Fruit rod: two-year-old rod with flower buds that springs from last year's water shoot
The fruit cake plays an important role. Specifically, this refers to fruit wood with noticeable thickenings. The thickenings mark the places where the fruit stalks were the previous year. Every fruit cake has the potential to produce fresh fruit wood and new fruit skewers. When professionally pruning fruit trees, care should be taken to leave enough fruit cake on the tree.
Die Triebe am Apfelbaum (Teil 2): Die Fruchttriebe
Tip
Is the wait for the first fruit wood, up to 12 years, far too long for you? Then simply train your fruit tree as a spindle tree. All side shoots thrive as fruiting wood on a single scaffold shoot as a mini trunk. Under normal conditions, you can harvest the first fruits from an apple spindle after just 2 years.
