On a very cold, grey and windy Sunday morning on 1 March 2026, six hardy members of Cleobury Gardeners gathered at Billy Auger’s Fruit Farm, Augernik, in Hopton Wafers for a practical session on pruning soft fruits, coupled with a demonstration of grafting fruit trees. We had intended to do the activity at the end of January but the very rainy conditions and water-logged soil at that time meant the session would be dark and dank with, more importantly, a risk to the plants of developing silver leaf later in the year. Silver leaf is a fungal disease caused by Chondrostereum purpurem. It infects fruit trees and bushes through wounds, mainly as a result of pruning. The silvering becomes evident in the summer months, and fruiting bodies form from late summer onwards. The trees most commonly affected are plums, apricots, almonds and cherries, as well as trees in the hawthorn group, roses and rhododendron. Therefore, given that Billy relies on cultivating healthy fruits grown on healthy bushes and trees (which he sells in abundance during the year – well worth a visit!), it was important that his crops (and his livelihood) weren’t put at risk.
Pruning fruit bushes in the Ribes group
Billy outlined the key points to remember when pruning fruits in the Ribes group – currants (red, white and black) and gooseberries.
- Remember that the main reason for pruning the bushes is to maximise cropping and to encourage fruit to grow from the middle to the top of the bush to facilitate picking, especially when bushes such as gooseberries often have very sharp thorns.
- Aim to produce an open goblet shape (to ensure a good airflow to prevent fungal disease) by:
- removing low stems/branches that are too near the ground and may root or sit on the soil
- removing crossing, dead, diseased and broken stems
- trimming the side shoots back to two or three buds from the base and shortening the leading new growth by a third to an upward-facing bud.
- Every year, remove one or two of the oldest, darkest, least productive branches from the base of the plant to encourage new and more vigorous growth.
- Look for new, whiter stems (ghost-like!) growing from the base – these are the new shoots and should not be removed unless they are growing across other stems or growing too far out from the base.
Remember that pruning is not undertaken only to shape bushes for this growing season but also to nurture new growth for fruiting in subsequent years. Always look ahead to future years when pruning, making sure you have a plan for what you want it to do as the plant continues to grow, year-on-year.
Grafting – Conference pears onto Victoria plum rootstock
Grafting fruit trees involves uniting a cutting (called a scion) from a desirable fruit variety to a rootstock (a strong rooting system) to create a single productive tree.
Billy used vigorous rooted shoots that had been sent up from the base of an established Victoria plum as his rootstock. He selected new young and healthy shoots as scions from a Conference pear, each cut to about 20cm in length and about the thickness of a pencil.
1. Make a downward, straight cut about 3cm long through the top of the rootstock
2. Make a short angled cut about 2cm long from one side of the base of the scion, just below a bud
3. Very carefully, push the scion into the slit on the rootstock
It is important that the green layers just beneath the bark meet. They should, if possible, touch on both sides of the stem, but it’s usually satisfactory if they just meet on one side. The key is to make straight cuts so the scion and rootstock fit snugly.
4. Wrap the graft
Use florist tape and tie firmly and tightly to ensure stability of the graft. Then, apply Plumber’s Mait (also called Plumber’s Mate) to exclude water.
5. Wait and See
You will have to wait a few weeks to see if your graft has been successful. This was a very skillful demonstration from a very experienced grafter. The technique is difficult to master and may result in several failures, but success, even in making one vigorous graft, is amazing. Try it and see!
Visit Augernik for free in 2026!
Billy has several grated trees on his farm at Hopton Wafers, a couple of miles from Cleobury Mortimer on the A4117 to Ludlow – DY14 0HH. You can see these trees, as well all of his crops, for free! He is hosting farm walks most weekends this summer: they are fully funded by DEFRA under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme. They’re every Sunday morning from 10.30am-12.30pm. Minimum of 4 people and booking is required. Best to contact Billy on 07582 691085. His Facebook page is Augernik Fruit Farm and he is on Instagram as Billy Auger. He will be happy to show you how to graft if you’re interested and answer any fruit-related questions you have. You’ll go home happy, perhaps with a graft, as our members did on our visit. Enjoy!