How to prune the sorb tree
How to prune the sorb tree
The sorb tree (Sorbus domestica L.) is a fruit tree of the Rosaceae family and its fruits are commonly called sorbole.
This plant is a species native to Southern Europe, from Spain to the Crimea and Asia Minor, often cultivated for fruits even outside its range. In Italy it is found sporadically throughout the peninsula and in the islands, in the mountain broad-leaved woods preferentially on a calcareous substrate.
The sorb tree is a slow-growing plant, which is why it has become an increasingly less cultivated species and is present in farms or in amateur gardens and vegetable gardens.
However, in this plant the grafting on hawthorn or quince allows to shorten the unproductive period, even if, however, the fruiting takes place around the 10th year of age.
Pruning Technique –
Pruning is generally not carried out for the rowan, except for a few cuts during the rearing phase to give shape to the plant and, subsequently, to remove damaged or dry branches. However, the plant has a natural propensity to alternate, so that years of discharge can be followed by years of charge, with a considerable production of fruit.
For this reason it is good, however, to prune lightly and in the same way every year.
In general you can choose the shape that tends to assume naturally or pyramidal; the important thing is to intervene from the early years of the plant in order to keep it orderly and circumscribed.
Pruning interventions will only be necessary to eliminate all diseased or wind-damaged branches; furthermore, since it is important that the light always penetrates correctly inside the rowan canopy, it is necessary to intervene slightly in the internal part of the canopy in order to leave it free and open.
Varieties and rootstocks –
The sorb tree is a plant of which, due to the lack of interest in commercial cultivation, there are very few varieties and which differ substantially in the shape and size of the fruit.
In general, two varieties can be recognized: those with more elongated pear-shaped fruits (similar to small pears), and those with maliform fruits, more round (similar to small apples).