Country Lore: Train Branches with Buckets

Use water-filled buckets to train fruit tree branches to grow in the correct position.

April/May 2008
By Nancy McLaughlin 
Train Branches
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Buckets filled with water and attached to tree limbs will aid in directing the growth of the branches.
NANCY MCLAUGHLIN
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Around our area we’re known for our unusual gardening methods. My latest project really had the neighborhood and passing cars wondering!

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We have 12 mature apple, plum and pear trees in the front half acre of our property. After many pruning mistakes, I finally realized that I needed to train new limbs. I tried wiring them down, but in the dark you could trip on the wires, so I abandoned that idea. Then I thought of just hanging bricks, the ones with holes in them. Well, I couldn’t get the weight right, and adding and taking bricks off is hard and can damage the trees. I didn’t know what to do until I was cleaning out one of our storage areas and saw all the buckets we use for harvesting, and realized I wouldn’t need them during the growing season. So, I cut soft rope to the length I needed, tied the middle around the stoutest part of the tree limb I wanted to train, and tied each end to the handle of a bucket. I added water to the buckets to bend the limb a little at a time, enough so it wouldn’t break.

I can hang the buckets down low enough so that if they do swing, they can’t damage the tree or other limbs and it’s easy for me to work with them. I can add water or tip the bucket over to water the lawn; it takes no time at all. Now I have limbs growing in the positions I need them.

Nancy McLaughlin
Creswell, Oregon
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