EarthWorks Orchard Curriculum
Fruit Tree Buds
The following diagrams should give you an idea of what to look for and should help with making predictions about what will happen to the buds.
Terminal Bud: The fat bud at the
branch tip grows the fastest. Remove
it and several buds will break
dormancy behind it.
Leaf Bud: Flat triangular buds
on the sides of a branch will form
leaves. Cut off the stem above
it and it will grow.
Flower Bud: Plump, flower-forming
buds, the first to swell in the spring.
On fruits with stone pits, they grow
Alone or beside leaf buds. On
Apples and pears, they contain a
few leaves.
Spurs: Squat twiglets tipped with fat
flower buds. They grow on older branches
of apples, pears, plums and apricots.
Don’t remove them; they produce flowers,
then fruit.
Bud Scar: Ring on a branch marking where
the terminal bud began growing after
the dormant season. Marks the beginning
of the present season’s growth.
Befriend a Bud
Observing eyes can quickly find buds, large and
small, on bushes and trees in all shapes, sizes and
colors. In order to identify the kind of tree a bud is
growing on, it is important to notice the arrangement
of buds on the twig. Are they in pairs or opposite
each other? Most fruit and nut buds are alternate,
appearing first on one side of the twig, then the other.
Look for a leaf scar below the bud, left when the
leaf fell off in autumn. Each type of tree will be
slightly different. In the leaf scar are tiny dots of
bundle scars which are the ends of veins that
transport food and water between leaf and twig.
Sometimes these dots make a pattern, and on walnut
and butternut twigs, they even look like a face.
Can you find the terminal bud of a twig when it
has one? It is the largest bud at the very end of
the twig. Buds along the sides of the twig are
called lateral buds. Usually the larger buds
contain flowers, or leaves and flowers, while the
small ones are simply leaf buds. Open a large bud
and see what you find inside.
Once the terminal bud is formed, growth ends for
the season. Some trees do not have terminal buds
at all. In these cases the twig keeps growing until
its food supply dies off. Then the twig dies back
to the last lateral bud, which becomes a psuedo
(false) terminal bud with a small round scar
(different from leaf scars) at its base where the
branch died back and fell off. These buds are
usually at an angle.
Are these little raised dots here and there along
your twig? These are lenticels that allow oxygen
into the branch. A few inches from the tip of your
twig you may discover several lines or rings close
together. These are growth rings left when the
bud scales of last year’s terminal bud fell off. They
show last year’s growth; how much the twig grew
in one year. Now look for the next ring further
down. Starting at the tip of the twig, count the
growth rings to get the age of the twig. Now you
are ready to be a twig detective.
Adapted from Massachusetts Audubon’s How To Be A Twig Detective.
Bud Identification Chart
Buds and Branches Care: Pruning
Pruning is removing some of the branches of a tree as a way of guiding the tree’s growth and fruit production. We cut the branches while the tree is dormant (a sleep-like state in which the tree is not actively growing) in late winter or early spring (March or early April) because it is less harmful than pruning when it is in full growth and sap is flowing. We don’t prune earlier than is because pruning stimulates plant growth and a tree can be damaged by growing too early in the season.
In nature, insects, herbivores and weather prune trees. However, dead wood and ripped branches invite decay and disease. Also, shaded, wet interior branches bring fungus to rot the fruit. In the wild, trees produce smaller, less tasty fruit. By pruning we encourage a tree to produce bigger and better-tasting fruit.
Why Prune?
1. To improve/maintain the health of the tree.
a. Control disease and insect invasion.
b. Make it easier for trees to heal after branches die
c. Maximize the air and sun exposure to tall branches.
d. Improve branch strength.
2. Encourage trees to produce “better” and “bigger” fruit.
Pruning Skills:
1. Cut with flat side of pruners, close to branch.
2. Cut side branches right above branch collar (the swelled and folded joint between the branch and the trunk).
3. Vertical branches (terminal buds) cut ¼” above the bud/branch heading in the direction you want the branch to grow. (There is no branch collar to protect the remaining branch; drying and dieback can occur so you need to leave the ¼”allow for this.)
Pruning Side Branches Pruning Vertical Branches Pruning above buds
Cut right above the branch collar. Cut ¼” above branch to be kept. Cut ¼” above bud. Top bud will grow out.
What to Prune
1. Remove damaged, diseased and dead wood, suckers, and branches growing at an angle too close to the trunk (less than 17 degrees). Effect: Energy to good branches, avoid disease.
2. Removed crossed and inward growing branches. Effect: Light and air circulate to all branches.
3. Develop shape. Point out differently shaped orchard trees. Effect: aesthetics, fruit production.
a. Central Leader: Strong vertical dominant trunk with “scaffolding” of lateral branches. Example: Apple
b. Modified Leader: Multiple trunks lower down opening into “open vase” at the down. Example: European plum, cherry.
c. Open Vase: Whorl of branches starting from low on the tree opening into a vase shape. Example: Peach, nectarine, Japanese/American plum.
Central Leader: One Modified Central Leader: Vase: allows light and
main trunk. This shape has both strength and a sunny air into tree’s interior,
can hold a heavy crop center, a compromise between encourages fruit
of fruit and resist storm central leader and vase shape. production on lower
damage. branches.
Created by EarthWorks Projects Inc.
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