Lesson 2: Fruit Tree Anatomy

Fruit trees are similar to other trees, but there are some important parts of a fruit tree's anatomy that can make the difference between a tree that is extremely productive, and one that is not. In this lesson we will cover both general and specific fruit tree anatomy, so you know what branches to remove and which ones need to remain in order to be fruitful.

This is the 2nd part of a 9 lesson fruit pruning course. If you would like to start this course at the beginning, please follow this link:

Fruit Pruning Course

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Lesson 1

General Tree Anatomy

The legendary football coach of the Green Bay Packers, Vince Lombardi, is known for standing in front of his team of professionals with a ball in hand, and saying, "This is a football." Before you can excel in any endeavor, it's imperative that you master the fundamentals.

The following image is a fruit tree which like other trees is comprised of three main parts:

• Canopy
• Trunk
• Root System

This is a Tree

Canopy

As discussed in the previous lesson, The canopy is responsible for collecting sunlight and producing sugar. The second purpose of the canopy is to funnel water from leaf to leaf until it drips on the fibrous roots at the drip line.

Since I just mentioned roots, let's skip the trunk and talk about the root system. The Root system, as discussed in the previous lesson acts as a battery to store surplus energy, but there are two more important purposes.

Root System

First, the root system anchors and supports the tree to the ground and keeps it from tipping over in high winds and under heavy fruit loads. If we could expose the roots of a tree you would find large roots, approximately the size of the main branches, close to the tree.

As those root extend towards the drip line they would fork and become smaller, and smaller. Eventually these roots become thin and fibrous, and, as mentioned above, would collect the water that drips from the canopy. In addition to water, these roots collect other nutrients that a tree needs to thrive. Think of these nutrients as vitamins and minerals. Like you and I, a fruit tree can't live on sugar alone. So, the second purpose of the root system is to collect water and nutrients.

Trunk

The trunk is like a two way street that connects the canopy to the roots. Sugars are moving from the canopy to the roots and water and nutrients are being moved from the roots to the canopy.

The Anatomy of a Branch

Now that we have discussed the general tree anatomy, let's talk about branches.

At the very tip of a branch, you will find a terminal or apical bud. This bud is responsible for expanding the height and width of a tree and grows faster than the other buds.

The lateral buds, also referred to as nodes will typically have leaves and grow slowly.

Every year branches put on new growth. Where the terminal bud was last year, you will find a scar. This is called the terminal bud scar and you can estimate the age of your tree by counting the terminal bud scars.

There are two types of branches in most fruiting trees. Water Sprouts and spurs.

Water sprouts are fast growing branches that are usually smooth, and grow straight up in the middle of the tree. 

Spurs are slow growing branches that grow laterally and are several years old. You can tell that they are old because the terminal bud scars are stacked on top of each other giving them a rough texture.

It's important to identify these two branches because doing so will help you determine which branches to cut when pruning your fruit trees.

Pome fruit like Apples, Pears, and Quince all produce fruit on spurs. When pruning these trees, it is important to thin out the water sprouts so they don't shade out the spurs on the older branches.

Stone fruit like Apricots, Peaches, Nectarines, Plums, and Cherries all produce fruit on water sprouts. So it is important to prune out older wood to make room for newer branches.

When pruning fruit trees it is important to make cuts at a fork or a node. Where a branch forks, your will find a ridge and a collar.

The ridge is like a check valve. separates one branch from another to protect the tree from pathogens from entering a pruning cut. Because of this, it is not necessary to paint or tar pruning cuts.

The collar is where the actively growing part of the tree can grow over pruning cuts, sealing them off from outside influences. When pruning fruit trees it is imperative that you remove branches without damaging the ridge and collar.

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