Now is the ideal time to do most of your tree pruning. This especially applies to fruit trees, which benefit from regular maintenance. Pruning fruit trees during dormancy in late winter and early spring makes them less susceptible to infiltration by fungal and bacterial pathogens and insects. To take advantage of this window, aim to get your fruit tree pruning done by the middle of April when the coldest weather has passed but new growth has not yet begun.
Why prune fruit trees?
The benefits of pruning your fruit trees are many, and start with maintaining basic health. It’s important to remove dead or diseased wood to safeguard the overall health of your trees. While removing unhealthy branches should be done at any time of year, examining your tree while it’s dormant is especially useful because it makes it easier to spot any problem areas.
Pruning for structure is also important with fruit trees, and this practice should start when they’re young. By shaping your tree little by little, you avoid unnecessary stress by having to remove large limbs later on. Different fruits benefit from different types of pruning. For instance, apples are often pruned to a central leader while stone fruits might be pruned to an open vase shape. If you are curious about the best method of pruning your particular fruit tree, the University of Minnesota has helpful instructions that we linked at the end of this article.
Pruning that reduces fruit load will help improve your fruit quality. While it might seem counterintuitive to remove fruits, the quality of the harvest and health of the tree will be improved by encouraging your tree to focus on fewer fruits. This will also help minimize how much thinning you will have to do in the beginning of the season and how much fallen fruit you will have to clean up at the end of the season. As an added bonus, regular pruning allows you to control the size of your tree and makes the delicious fruits easier to reach at harvest time.
Choose a mild, dry day to complete your pruning. Make sure whatever pruning tool you choose is sharp and clean and make sure to sanitize it between trees if you are pruning more than one.
Below are some links with more specific pruning advice. Happy pruning!
Click here for part 1 in a 3 part video series on apple tree pruning.
Click here for a primer on growing stone fruits (cherries, apricots, peaches, and plums) with lots of pruning advice at the end.
