In-person, hands-on Apple/Pear Fruit Tree Dormant Pruning Training from a PRO horticultural educator
This Sat (Feb 22nd 2025) 10 AM -> noon @ NE Seattle Magnuson Park Orchard
!!!WARNING: This is a FREE LEARNING WORKSHOP for anyone & all to attend!!!
!!!NO attendees are expected to do any WORK!!!
!!!PLEASE: Come, Observe & Learn then LEAVE ASAuPrefer!!!
… (or stick around to help w/ light physical activities like pruning w/ Ingela W., harvesting scion w/ Ingela W., weeding beds w/ other STFS members, laying out miner bee habitat, removing several dead fruit trees and prepping for replant, winding copper wire around pear branches to experiment with rust control, etc…)
Meet at the Magnuson Park demo orchard sign installed by longtime STFS member and one of Magnuson Garden’s bests Jerry Packard (RIP).
Google Maps for Magnuson Orchard by The Brig Bldg, 6344 NE 74th St, Sea, WA 98115 (47.682388, -122.259640)
Free Parking in front of The Brig Bldg and Magnuson Orchard
Bring: Everything you need for being outside 2 hours with a small group of people. News reports respiratory illness spread is bad right now, so masking is suggested though this event is outside allowing for social distancing. Your own pruning tools if you want hands-on practice with the ready advice of a fruit tree pruning pro. Your own snacks and liquid refreshments. You can decide whether to share or not.
Dress: For weather which is expected to be warmish (50s F) with possibility of passing shower, for muddy walking surfaces and for gardening chores IF you choose to help with orchard upkeep tasks (NOT REQUIRED!!!)
Facilities: Spare … Closest toilet is port-a-potty by green P-Patch shed behind The Brig. (Got TP?) Don’t expect any heated building access although indoor tennis center across intersection may allow use of indoor plumbed toilets.
Questions?: Email seattletreefruitsociety@gmail.com
Dormant fruit tree pruning … on cold a winter’s day?
Apple and pear tree pruning often occurs in the dormant season (Nov 15 –April 15) which challenges the backyard orchardist when making thinning cuts. Thinning cuts are made to open up sunlight channels into the tree so the best fruit develops throughout the tree and not just at the tree’s top or periphery. Without leaves on the tree during the dormant season, the backyard orchardist must imagine how upper branches may shade out fruit production on lower, more accessible branches. Are you more planner than visionary? An organized backyard orchardist could long-term plan dormant season pruning by flagging branches during the summer for removal the following winter. Doctors are trained to first do no harm, but backyard orchardists aren’t performing brain surgery. Keep in mind the key phrase when dormant pruning: When in doubt, thin it out! Make the most of your thinning cuts and your time spent outside in wet, chilly PNW weather. More online fruit tree pruning tips: “Pruning Tree Fruit – The Basics” by Gary Moulton & Jacky King, WSU Mount Vernon Research & Extension Unit
Online: Magnuson orchard planted varieties map
Online: Tips on scion harvest and store
Online: Basic fruit tree grafting