Winter: 2026
🌱Natural Agriculture: Darts in the Apple Tree
Welcome back to our gardening and horticulture blog! It’s a pleasure to have you here once again sharing this passion for plants.
Today, we are diving into the fascinating world
of fruit tree pruning, specifically focusing on
apple trees. We will explore the key method used
to encourage a vegetative bud to transform into
a reproductive (flower) bud. To understand this
process, it is essential to learn about "spurs"
(known as dardos in Spanish).
Spurs are short, slow-growing structures with
very tight internodes that end in a bud. When
these buds receive the right nutrients and
adequate sunlight, they undergo floral
induction, changing from leaf buds into future
flowers and, eventually, delicious apples.
To show you this miracle of nature, I am sharing
some very special visual material today. In the
first three images, captured with a microscope
loupe, we performed a cross-section of one of
these buds. In Photo 1, you can clearly see the
tiny white petals already forming inside,
confirming that the bud has successfully become
reproductive. Photo 2 shows the outside of the
bud in its current state.
In Photo 3, you can see the same view as the
first one but with much better definition;
you’ll notice my fingers in the frame because
the bud was lying flat, and I had to hold it
vertically to get a clear view of the straight
cut.
Moving along, the fourth and fifth photos
showcase the pruned stems with a detailed view
of the spurs, ready for the upcoming season.
Finally, in the attached video, I show you the
end result of the pruning session.
For this deeper maintenance, I had to use a hand
saw to remove two main branches that were
blocking light and draining the tree's energy.
Although it’s always a bit sad to cut branches
with potential flower buds, this clearing is
vital to let sunlight penetrate the canopy and
boost production.
Interactive image viewer: Dardo del Manzano
Now, we just have to wait for spring to see how many flowers and fruits we will get.
📸Rooting process log
Photo One
Dart
With a cross-section
Photo two
Bud
I think it was fruitful or vegetative
Photo three
What meristematic tissue looks like
That the small petals are inside.
Branch with spurs
You can
To show you
Branch two
With darts
We shall see if the rest of the fruit tree blossoms.
🎯 Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Apple Tree Pruning?
1. What are the short, slow-growing structures crucial for apple tree flower production called?
2. What color are the tiny internal petals seen under the microscope that confirm a reproductive bud?
3. Which tool was used in the video to remove two main branches and clear the way for sunlight?
