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plum fan training
neilbradburn
Posts: 142
in Fruit & veg
Hi all,
I'd value some of your wisdom. I planted a bareroot Victoria plum tree on my allotment plot during the dormant season which I plan to grow as a fan. When I planted it, there weren't any suitable laterals to start the training and thus I chopped the main 'stem' down to 45cm, as advised by the RHS pruning book. It then says that when 2 suitable horizontal-planed branches appear, to train them at a 45 degree angle and to cut them back to stimulate side-shoots, which will become the ribs. However, it wasn't clear when it is suitable time for the latter. I have about 6 good branches and thus would need to cut 4 of them back. Do people think now would be a suitable time to perform this training step, or is it too late in the season and I'd actually set the tree back by robbing valuable foliage and wood which would feed back to the roots later in the year if I left them?
Many thanks in advance!
kind regards
Neil
I'd value some of your wisdom. I planted a bareroot Victoria plum tree on my allotment plot during the dormant season which I plan to grow as a fan. When I planted it, there weren't any suitable laterals to start the training and thus I chopped the main 'stem' down to 45cm, as advised by the RHS pruning book. It then says that when 2 suitable horizontal-planed branches appear, to train them at a 45 degree angle and to cut them back to stimulate side-shoots, which will become the ribs. However, it wasn't clear when it is suitable time for the latter. I have about 6 good branches and thus would need to cut 4 of them back. Do people think now would be a suitable time to perform this training step, or is it too late in the season and I'd actually set the tree back by robbing valuable foliage and wood which would feed back to the roots later in the year if I left them?
Many thanks in advance!
kind regards
Neil
0
Posts
https://www.pomonafruits.co.uk/garden-accessories/books/rhs-growing-fruit-by-harry-baker
which goes into great detail about pruning and fan training plums ... far too much for me to copy out here I’m afraid ... but I strongly recommend the book ... it’s guided me successfully through espaliering my pear tree.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I have the book you mention somewhere, so I will dig it out and have a look. I fear, though, that I'm asking about an infrequent edge-case that may not be covered (as with the RHS pruning book).
kind regards
Neil
I've read the plum fan training section of the aforementioned book. It refers you to the peach fan training instructions for the early stages. It states that you need to make an initial cut 2ft up the trunk above 3 healthy buds in early summer. Of these 3 buds, 2 of the resulting stems are trained at 45 degrees as the arms of the fan and another as a vertical. The latter is then cut down in june/july. I suspect the vertical is left to draw some of the potent growing energies, and its cutting down in june/july indicates growing has largely come to an end by them - and the wood starts to mature. Assuming I am right, then this would suggest to me that I should leave all the branches on my tree until next spring so that it can capitalise on the leaves energy generation and storage. Does this sound sensible to you? Any thoughts are very much appreciated!
kind regards
Neil
😊
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.