Delicious fruits, exceptionally beautiful plants, and more!
Many gardeners enjoy growing fruit trees, as they provide a sweet and tasty reward to cap off their gardening efforts, so why don’t you join in and grow your own fruit-bearing trees?
From apples and pears, to cherries and plums, growing your own fruity produce does not have to be a treat reserved exclusively for gardens on the Mediterranean, with so many varieties happily growing and thriving in our British gardens. Plus, you don’t need a ready-made orchard, as so many varieties can be grown in patio pots, or just enough garden space to look superb, without taking over!
Pruning is a crucial task that unlocks bountiful harvests for years to come, but fear not, green-fingered enthusiasts, as this guide will equip you with the knowledge to prune your trees of apples, cherries, pears and more for optimal fruit production.
Pruning Fundamentals
Before diving headfirst into specifics, let’s cover the common ground:
1 – Most fruit trees are pruned during their dormant period, typically between November and March. Avoid pruning during frosty periods.
2 – Invest in sharp secateurs for clean cuts. Dull secateurs can squash the stems, rather than cut them, leading to the introduction of disease. Also, be sure to disinfect your tools regularly to prevent disease spread.
3 – When pruning, remember the three ‘d’s’ – dead, diseased, and damaged. These branches should always be your priority when pruning. Remove them to promote healthier growth down the line.
How To Prune Apple and Pear Trees
Apple and pear trees are some of the most common seen across the country, and it is not hard to understand why! The heavy crops of mouth-watering snacks can be plucked straight from the tree, while also making excellent ingredients for a range of desserts, drinks, and preserves.
When it comes to pruning your apple and pear trees, be sure to leave it to the winter, when leaves have dropped.
Aim to remove no more than a fifth of the overall canopy of your tree, working around evenly, be sure to use a ladder and caution when working at height!
As a rule of thumb, if it feels like you are removing too much foliage, you probably are, so pause and return with fresh eyes next winter. If you prune back too hard, upright branches may replace the growth, known as water shoots, which will overcrowd the plant.
For even and effective growth, stagger pruning cuts across the canopy. If just the top branches are pruned, fresh growth will only emerge from there, thus reducing fruiting at the tips.
Be sure to ‘thin’ your tree, selectively removing branches here and there, focusing on areas where the growth seems to be more crowded.
How To Prune Apricot Trees
Apricot trees should be pruned each year to keep them in an attractive and healthy shape. As stone fruits, prune apricots in either spring or summer, to reduce the risk of infection. Prune an established apricot tree after it has fruited, and those newly planted on a dry day in early spring.
Many grow apricot trees as fans, trained against a wall or fence to boost fruiting and ripening. Fans have a short trunk topped with a flat fan of radiating branches.
To prune a fan trained apricot, remove any congested or badly placed shoots as and when they appear. Pinch back any remaining shoots to just six leaves, then in August after fruiting, shorten the fans further, ready to bear fruit the following year.
How To Prune Cherry and Plum Trees
Cherry and plum trees require very similar care, with regular pruning needed to retain a good shape and experience good fruiting for years to come.
Annually prune these established trees, as soon as harvesting has ended, typically in late July or August, to keep the tree compact and take up less space.
These can be pruned into bush or pyramid tree formations.
Bush trees boast a trunk roughly 75cm tall, with three or four branches emerging at the top, creating an open goblet shape, while a pyramid tree is similar, but with an intact middle shoot and without an open centre. Branches start lower, just 50cm or so from the ground, gradually becoming shorter up the tree – just like a pyramid!
Or, if you are looking to save space in a smaller garden or want many varieties alongside one-another, the trees can be shaped into fans or cordons.
Fans have a short trunk with a flat fan top of outstretching branches, trained up a wall or fence. To keep this shape, be sure to prune twice each year, in early summer and then again after fruiting.
Cordons, meanwhile, are single-stemmed trees with short shoots to the side, with the support of either a sturdy stake or wire system. Cordon pruning typically works well with less vigorous varieties, such as Plum Czar.
How To Prune Citrus Trees
Citrus trees, such as lemons and oranges, generally remain compact and grow slowly. Because of this, only minimal pruning is needed to retain a good shape. When it comes to pruning, be sure to wear gloves, as many are armed with sharp thorns!
Around February, thin overcrowded branches, then remove wayward shoots that spoil the shape. Cut back particularly legged plants by up to two-thirds and the tallest shoots can be reduced.
Then, in summer, pinch back the tips of the most vigorous shoots, as this will encourage further branching.
Some citrus trees can produce unwanted, fast-growing vertical shoots – be sure to cut any that sprout from the lower or middle portions of the main branches.
How To Prune Peach Trees
Keep juicy peaches growing for years to come, by pruning annually. This ensures healthy, productive, and shapely trees. As peach fruits grow almost entirely on the shoots of the previous year, pruning should aim to replace old, fruited wood, to make way for new growth.
Like apricot trees, peaches are stone fruits, so is important to prune in spring or summer, as to reduce infection risk. Prune newly planted peaches after buds open in early spring, then in summer once fruiting has concluded for mature, established trees.
If your peach tree has been fan trained, leave pruning until spring.
Compact patio peaches, such as ‘Crimson Bonfire’, seen here, will need very little to no pruning and can be used to decorate your favourite pots and containers.
Remember! This is just general guidance. When planting and caring for your own fruit tree, be sure to research and follow advice for that specific variety.
For beginner gardeners, pruning can feel like a daunting task, but it needn’t be! Start small and watch how your tree responds. With a little practice, you’ll be pruning like a pro and enjoying the fruits, literally, of your labour for years to come.
Are you planting a bare root fruit tree this year, follow our expert guidance here.
