Pruning Fruit Trees For Healthy Growth

Pruning your fruit trees to remove the dead and unnecessary branches, not only promotes healthy growth, it also keeps your trees looking good.

Often a fruit tree will devote its energy to unnecessary branches, while neglecting those branches that produce the most fruit. By removing these branches you will see a marked increase in the productivity of your fruit trees.

Pruning also ensures that your trees retain a uniform shape and develop stronger branches. Many times a tree that has not been properly pruned, becomes weighted down on one side. This uneven distribution of the branches can result in broken limbs, or a permanently crooked tree.

Many people will often refrain from pruning their trees until they have begun producing fruit. This is not the best practice. You should prune and trim your trees each and every year, regardless if they are bearing fruit or not.

The best time to perform your yearly pruning is generally in the late winter, before new growth begins. This makes it so much easier to see the branches that need to be removed, also the tree is still dormant.

When you begin pruning you need to first examine the tree for any dead or diseased branches. Removing these damaged branches is essential to the health of your fruit tree. If you spot dead or damaged branches at anytime during the year, remove them immediately. Never just leave them until your fall pruning.

Once you have removed any dead or diseased branches, it's time to move on to pruning the rest of the tree. I usually begin at the top. Often fruit trees will develop two competing leaders. Leaders are the very top branches that grow straight up. Your tree should have only one leader. If your tree has developed two, remove the narrowest one.

Next I look for any branches that...

1. Are sucker branches that are sprouting from the trunk of the tree.
2. Are growing downward toward the ground.
3. Are criss-crossing or rubbing together.
4. Have very narrow crotches.
5. Are growing upwards from interior branches.
6. Are growing very close to each other. (Remove the smallest)

When pruning your fruit trees for the first few years, you should also focus attention on the shape of the tree. Try to keep it uniform and in balance. As the tree matures, you will only need to do some light maintenance, to keep it in shape and healthy.

Pruning your fruit trees throughout their life cycle will benefit both you and your trees. The trees will be healthier and more productive, while you enjoy larger harvests.

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