Pruning fruit trees

[andy2]

Hi got about 14 fruit trees to do a mixture of apples, damson and some others.Is it the right time to do them now?

 

chears

[Jonty]

Bit early IMO. I prune mine mid Jan when trees will be totally dormant.

[Nic Johnson Contracting]

Hi got about 14 fruit trees to do a mixture of apples, damson and some others.Is it the right time to do them now?

 

chears

 

i wouldn't say it was too early id do them know

[Gnarlyoak]

In theory, it would be possible to do them now, but later maybe better, especially if they are late producing trees and they have only just dropped their leaves. The tree will enter dormancy after leaf drop, but the tree may also still be drawing down the energy stores in the branches down into the root system. Cutting too early, will mean that the tree will loose these energy reserves.

 

This article may help to explain how, when and why to prune your apple trees.

 

Pruning Apple Trees - How and when to prune

 

Hope this helps.

[chestnut]

i usually do apples and pears in jan / feb

damson has already been done

cherries and plums are done in summer

[WoodED]

the right time to prune them is when the fruit is still on them..

[John Barleycorn]

Two points here.

Are the apples tip bearing, or spur bearing cultivars ?

Obviously if they are tip bearing then any pruning will damage yield.

Apples are generally pruned for shape in the summer.

[leo_h]

What a great article, thanks Gnarlyoak!