Pruning Fruit Trees

[MaryN]

For those people lucky enough to have plum or cherry trees in their gardens, now is a good time to do some pruning. If your trees have finished fruiting and you are already gorging on cherries, it is a good time to cut back any flappy branches. Reduce by about a third if you can, and make sure that you cut above a new bud. You can start to adjust the shape of your trees by making sure that the buds are facing outwards in order to keep the centre of the tree clear. Cut out any crossing branches to help prevent damage from rubbing in wind and bad weather.

Cherry and plum trees are prone to silver leaf disease and this is more of a threat when pruning is carried out too late in the year. So, prune them now if you can. Check for any broken branches, and cut back any growth beneath the graft scar.

Happy gardening.