On 23/03/2014 08:57, Bob Hobden wrote:
"Spider" wrote...

Bob Hobden wrote:
I've seen some horrendous "pruning" on our allotment site this week, you
simply would not believe it, so there will be no fruit this year if not
longer and it will take years for the plants to get back to the good
croppers they were, if they are not butchered again. The plot holders
concerned know at least two of us on the site know what we are doing,
pruning wise, so why won't people ask beforehand?

The next thing is these mature plants be grubbed out because they have
stopped fruiting!


Because many people simply don't understand just how crucial some
pruning is. If they did, they would ask or learn first. They simply
see a tree or bush which is getting too big and they want to control
it. If they could. They'll learn.


In this case I would not have said any of these plants were getting too
big, just getting going and beginning to show their best would have been
my comment. Not in any case did they need more than a light tidy up,
crossed branches etc, instead they got a total chop back to the main
framework, the single main stem in the case of the gooseberries, no
fruiting spurs left on the apple.



Mystifying, and very sad. Let's hope they have the sense to ask for
advice next time. There seems little point being too proud to ask for
help when you're surrounded by all the collective knowledge on an allotment.

--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay