Pruning Fruit Trees

[GaryThomlinson]

Watching TV yesterday, the presenter spoke of pruning fruit trees an

mentioned that while its ok to prune apple and pear trees now... it i not the right time to prune plum or cherry trees, but then neglected t mention when the right time to prune cherry or plum trees was. I hav two overgrown fruit trees, one plum and one apple and Im desperate t cut them both back to something more manageable...

Thanks

Gary Thomlinso

-- GaryThomlinson

[Steve]

I prune my plum and apple trees all at the same time. Before a 40 below zero winter killed my cherry tree, I pruned it at the same season as well. For me, that time is late April or early May. (later than most of the world) One possible explanation to what you heard is plant hardiness. You don't want to prune trees when the weather still might get close to the coldest they can tolerate. Apples are hardier than most plums and cherries. If your trees are way over grown, don't try to get them into shape all in one year. Heavy pruning will cause a ton of water sprouts. People tend to be afraid of summer pruning but it is a good way to prevent too much regrowth. If they use up all their energy making this years growth, they can't put out much more after you prune. At the very least, the summer pruning you really should do is remove the water sprouts that grow. Catch them at the right stage and you can pull them off by hand, like pulling weeds.

Steve