Pruning at Tuckahoe

This winter, the fruit trees of Tuckahoe received their first ever serious pruning. The huge fig trees that produce all summer have been made manageable. The 20 year old apple tree entered a 2-3 year rehab period by losing a lot of crowded and stubby growths. The wood was saved as it makes great for great woodcraft projects. Our cordoned pear trees which have been fighting disease, and have never actually produced a pear, have been renewed to bring lively young growth back to the trees.

The 2 biggest pruning endeavors, by far have been those of the Japanese Apricot and the Pleached Arbor. There are 6 young Japanese Apricot that had been growing so crazy that Brad, our grounds guy has had to wear serious eye protection when mowing underneath them for the past 2 years! Thanks to David’s pruning, they are now shapely fruit trees, and we are excited to see how they produce this year. The pleached arbor is a beautiful focal piece in our gardens. Grown from European Hornbeam this tree is very flexible and grafts to itself readily. Caring for the arbor includes not only pruning a tangled tree, but also spending days tying new growths down into the arbor shape.
It has been a lot of work, but it is great to see everything shaping up for what may be our most beautiful spring yet!