Fruit Tree Pruning Basics

There is a hard rule for pruning anything that you may be surprised to know. Trees, shrubs and perennials don’t actually need pruning to grow, produce fruit and flowers, or live through the seasons. If you are not sure about pruning it is better to do nothing at all and allow your plants to do what they know exactly how to do best, grow!

Why Prune Then?

We can prune to remove dead, damaged and diseased branches, and we can remove these any time. We can prune if there is a branch heading somewhere we don’t want it to go. We can prune to thin out branching and to create a healthier environment with more light and air movement. We prune fruiting trees and shrubs to push them to fruit and flower more. Remember the smaller the pruning cut the smaller the opening you will be making for pests and disease to access your plant.

Timing

There are two times for pruning your fruit tree and when you prune determines the speed at which your apple will grow!

Dormant Season Pruning

(Jan, Feb, March in BC) is done on young and growing trees to encourage growth when you are training and shaping your tree. In general, we are pruning for open branching and lots of air movement. You should be able to see through to the other side of the tree. We also prune to encourage more horizontals and 45-degree angle branches, like roses. Those angled branches are the branches that will produce more flower/fruit buds. Never remove more than 1/3 of the tree at any time. Sometimes that is just one cut.

Summer Pruning

(End of July, Beginning of August in BC) is done on mature fruit trees to slow down growth and maintain shape. Once your tree has filled its space and you are happy with the shape and size of it, you switch to summer pruning to slow it down and maintain it. Same pruning rules apply, pruning for open shape and encouraging of angled branching. For summer pruning you are not making large cuts, you are sticking with smaller branches (remember you are finessing not training at this point), and you are not removing any more than ¼ of the tree.