The best time to trim fruit trees is in the fall after the leaves fall off or in the spring before the buds open. Pruning fruit tres Story and photos by Michael Allen I


f you are planning to prune a shrub, or shade tree, or coniferous evergreen or a fruit tree, you will need a plan


of action. The best time to prune fruit trees for


home gardeners is in the fall when the leaves are off the tree or in early spring before the buds open out. Personally I prefer to do the pruning in the fall. Avoid doing any pruning later in the spring or summer unless there is an obvious disease situation that needs to be dealt with. I have included a diagram entitled ‘Basic Apple Tree In Need of Pruning’ as a reference for the discussion that follows. All the homeowners shown in the


photographs attended my fruit tree pruning classes. They learned the prun- ing objectives that every gardener should know: you want to aim for balance. Do you know what you are doing, and


are you comfortable doing the pruning yourself?


www.localgardener.net 3 1 2 3 4 6 Stand back and view the tree from 1 4


different perspectives. Does the crown of the tree look balanced to you? Does the main trunk appear to be in the centre of


the tree? Many fruit trees, 5 Basic Apple Tree in need of pruning


1. Water Sprouts 2. Broken Branch 3. Rubbing Branches 4. Branches Growing Too Close Together 5. Root Sucker Shoots at Base of Tree 6. Tree Has Too Much Growth on Right Side - Viburnum Tree Experts © 2014


especially apples, grow more on one side than the other, creating an unbalanced look to the tree. If the tree looks unbal- anced , you can prune back the branches that give it a lop-sided appearance. (In the right side of the diagram you can see the imbalanced area designated as feature 6.) Typically there may be many vertical


shoots vying for sun exposure. Many of these shoots may be ‘water sprouts’ which do not normally produce abun- dant fruits. (See feature 1 on the diagram.) Prune these out at their point of attachment to a horizontal branch. You definitely want to remove any


twigs and branches that are dead or broken. (See feature 2 on the diagram.)


Early Spring 2014 • 21


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