Winter Pruning

This time of year when you drive by the almond orchards you will see large crews of people in the orchards. Odds are they are pruning those almond trees. Now that its winter and the trees are dormant it's time to prune them. We wait until the trees are dormant to make sure there is no sap flowing through the trees. If the trees aren't dormant when we cut them the sap will flow out like the tree is bleeding. We definitely want to protect the tree and make sure this doesn't happen.

 Pruning is super important on young trees. You are training the young trees to encourage new growth and proper development.  These young trees are about 4 years old and what we prune now will help them to grow for the rest of their lives. On these trees we take out the middle branches to encourage light to come into the trees. His makes it easier for the bees to come into the trees for pollination as well. It also encourages air flow and prohibits disease allowing us to not have to spray as much.

We also take off some of the lower branches which makes it easier for the tractors to drive through the orchard. This helps to ensure we aren't breaking branches and hurting the trees as we drive through the fields throughout the year. Pruning helps to train the tree for the rest of its life cycle and makes it easier to continue to shape it for future years.

Until Next Time,

Almond Girl