A Guide to Pruning your Fruit Trees

Fruit trees are extremely popular in edible gardening, but most people don't realize the amount of care they need. They often need to be fertilized and watered regularly, managed for pests and diseases, and pruned yearly.

If you plant a peach tree and don't prune it, you'll end up with tall, out-of-reach branches that go straight up which can be difficult to correct (Fig. 1).

This blog will go over when, why, and how you should prune your fruit trees such as peaches, nectarines, plums, and apples. 

Figure 1: Peach tree in a backyard that hasn't been pruned in a while.

When should I prune my fruit tree?

The majority of deciduous fruit trees are best pruned between December and February while they are dormant. This is also the best time to plant fruit trees because it gives them time to establish root systems early in the year in order to withstand the summer heat. Training, or pruning, your fruit tree should begin at planting (Fig. 2).

Figure 2: Young peach trees pruned to an open vase shape by cutting them to 18-24 inches from the ground at planting and selecting 3 strong branches that grow the next season.

Why should I prune my fruit tree?

Trees respond to pruning by not only dwarfing the tree — making fruit picking easier — but also invigorating it by stimulating branching. The benefits of pruning and training include promoting a strong framework, aiding in the development and maintenance of a desirable tree size and shape, and increasing fruit size and quality. It also reduces the incidence of disease and allows for easier pest management.

How should I prune my fruit tree?

The most common pruning cuts are heading-back cuts, removal or thinning-out cuts, and reduction cuts. The heading-back cuts removes part of the branch which allows more branching to occur. Removal cuts is when the entire shoot or limb is removed to the larger parent branch (Fig. 3). With reduction cuts, you are removing a larger branch back to a smaller-diameter side branch. Watch this video where I show how to do those cuts.

Figure 3: This limb is being removed from the trunk (removal cut).

Pruning peaches, nectarines, and plums

Peaches, nectarines, and plums have a specific training program. The goal for peaches and nectarines especially is to create an open vase look to the tree so that the fruit is easier to pick and allows light to get into the center. These trees are also thinned out during the summer.

Since plums tend to grow more upright and branch more densely, they can be in trained with an open center or a modified leader system (Fig. 4). 

Figure 4. Flowering pear tree pruned to a modified leader.

Pruning apple trees

Apple trees do best with a modified center leader system with five to seven well-spaced scaffold limbs going in different directions. Often the angles of the limbs need to be spread so that they can support more fruit. This can be done with propping clothes pins between the trunk and young shoots. The clothes pins are removed in mid-summer once the tissue hardens (Fig. 5).

Figure 5: Clothes pin used to hold apple branch at a 90 degree angle while it hardens. Photo credit: Jon Clements.

What if I haven't pruned my tree in a while?

If you haven't pruned your tree in a while, your tree may look bushy, leading to slow growth and poor quality fruit. You need to prune it to get more light into the interior of the tree (Fig. 6). Remove vigorous, upright shoots from the interior of the tree and remove any suckers from the base. Select some branches with wide angles and thin out the remaining limbs. Shorten the scaffold limbs by about a 1/4 by using heading and removal cuts.

Figure 6: Well-maintained peach tree before its summer pruning.

What if my tree has pests or diseases?

With any tree, remove any diseased or damaged wood. If the tree has a history of pests or diseases, use may need to spray it with a dormant oil or fungicide to protect it. To treat for scales and mites (Fig. 7), apply dormant horticultural oil twice 10-14 days apart when the temperature is between 40° and 85°F and before bud break. For bacterial spot, apply a sulfur-based product and chlorothalonil for leaf curl before blooms or leaves appear. It is very important that you follow the label.

Figure 7: Spider mites on a leaf.

Key Takeaways

By pruning your fruit tree yearly, you make it easier to pick the fruit and the fruit may be bigger, especially if you thin out the fruit on each branch. If you have a fruit tree, take advantage of cooler temperatures during the winter and go out and prune them. Comment below with your tips for maintaining fruit trees.

Many gardeners have vegetable gardens in addition to fruit trees. You can maximize your space by doing square foot gardening and produce $160 worth of veggies in a small 4x4 square foot garden. If you want to learn more about square foot gardening, download your free Square Foot Garden Guide.