Sunday, February 21, 2016

Rescuing Apple Trees

For the last week we've been working in the orchard. I enjoy pruning trees. I like using my clippers; I dislike using the loppers; I detest trying to use a saw. Here's the view looking along the Scuppernong grapevines. Adam has them pretty much cleared out.
Here are two of the first espaliered apple trees I pruned.
As you can see, they've been neglected a long time and their form has suffered
I worked a couple of hours today on this line of trees again. So many were strangled in vines -- grapevine, poison ivy, Virginia creeper, honeysuckle, and others whose names I don't know. One of the apple trees was dead.
This one looks a bit better:
 I'll give you a before-and-after series:
This tree was pathetically overgrown and wrapped in vines. It had been trained initially along the fence but then allowed to grow untended for years.
The trunk, instead of having a primary leader, has crossed competition from multiple branches -- water sprouts that shot up and suck energy from the tree.
 There was even a big dead branch from another tree, hung up in its branches!
However, examination of its tip ends showed me that beautiful buds were still there - the tree was alive.
live branch wrapped in a thick vine
After significant pruning and clearing out, she looks like this:
still a little more work to do on her top
Before and after:
I enjoy this kind of work very much.  I find it relaxing and rewarding. I feel I am rescuing the trees from the grips of despair and death! I like to think that this is redemptive work -- intervening in a desperate situation, removing the evil, keeping the living, nurturing and helping it toward productivity. And even if the trees don't survive, at least it's good exercise!

3 comments:

  1. It does look like rewarding work! I wonder what kind of apples they will be! :)

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  2. I hope you get to eat the first apple after all that hard work.

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  3. Good results after much work. Hope you get lots of apples one day.

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