Is there a fruit-tree bible?
- To: "m*@ucdavis.edu" <m*@ucdavis.edu>
- Subject: Is there a fruit-tree bible?
- From: M* &* A* G* <g*@pangeanet.it>
- Date: Tue, 04 May 1999 02:11:01 +0200
Every time I look at my 5-metre tall apricot tree starting to bend over with the weight of the soon to
be succulent fruit already, I think how lucky I am, but surely my good fortune can't last. I'm too
ignorant at the moment to know how to prune it back properly, though I seem to manage fine on
non-Prunus plants. Am I right to be in awe of them (a friend who pruned back his Prunus had no fruit
for the next five years!) or is this a mystification spread locally by those "in the know"? Is there
such a thing as a fruit tree "bible", and will it be of any use in my Southern Italian orchard?
By the way, my apricot does have the odd problem with dripping sap, and a few smaller twigs do
occasionally die back, and I wouldn't want this to affect the tree as a whole. As this year is going
to be a bumper crop, I understand I'd do better to prune it soon afterwards, so that next year's
meagre crop (if they always do alternate between good and bad crops) can be on a perfectly pruned
tree.
I look forward to your ideas
Anthony
