A Master Gardener's Journal

By guest blogger Mary Concklin, Horticulture Extension Educator, PSU-Montgomery County

When to prune fruit trees and shrubs---it’s a question we often hear. The winter is a wonderful time to prune small plants and most--but not all--fruit trees. The following is a summary of pruning basics…

Fall bearing (everbearing) raspberries: These are by far the simplest fruits to prune. Prune all canes to ground level. Canes that produced fruit last season will not produce again this coming season. The canes that grow this spring will bear fruit in the late summer and fall. It is possible to have a summer and fall crop with the everbearers. However, the summer crop will be small and this will impact the fall crop.

Summer bearing raspberries: Remove all canes that produced fruit last season (the florocanes). These will not produce a crop the next year. You will then be left with the canes that were vegetative last summer (the primocanes). The primocanes will be florocanes this summer and produce a crop. Many varieties produce more canes than are needed, some strong and others weak. Remove all weak canes and then thin out the remaining canes to allow for light penetration. This will have a two-fold affect – it will allow the remaining canes to grow strong and healthy, and it will reduce disease incidence because the foliage and canes will be able to dry faster than crowded canes. Leave four to six canes per running foot of row.

Blueberries: Blueberry bushes should have two to three canes for each year of growth up to six years of age. So that would be two to three of the strongest canes that are new from last year – remove the rest of the new canes; two to three of the strongest canes that were new in 2006 – remove the rest of the canes that developed that year, and so on, with no canes older than six years. The reason is that the amount fruit and the berry size drops on older wood. Once your bush is older than six years, pruning would consist of removing the oldest canes, and selecting the two to three strongest new canes to keep. Blueberries bear fruit on last season’s growth, so do not prune off the tips.

Apple, Pear, Cherry & Plum Trees: Try to imagine what your tree will look like when all the leaves are out later this spring. Will sunlight be able to reach the center of the tree? Developing buds and fruit need sunlight. Before removing any branches, look at the point on the trunk where the branch comes out. This area is called the collar. When removing a branch, it is healthier for the tree’s recovery to leave the collar intact. Remove branches that are laying on top of other branches, remove branches or suckers that are growing upright (other than the main upright central leader), remove branches growing down toward the ground – fruit will tend to be small on these branches. Do not remove all the growth in towards the center of the tree or all your fruit will be pushed to the outer ends of the branches. You have a whole tree so use the whole tree to produce the fruit. The short stubby growth (spurs) in toward the center will bear fruit so should be left unless they are dead or weak. Black ugly looking growths are the Black Knot disease and are often times found on plums and cherries. These should be pruned out four inches below the knot and removed from the area to prevent spreading of the disease.

Peaches and Nectarines: Do not prune at this time. These trees should be pruned in the spring when the danger of severe frost is over.

An often asked question is, “Should I or can I cut the ends of the branches back?” The answer lies in what variety you are pruning, why you want to cut them back, and how they are growing. If the branch is healthy yet the tip has drooped well below the 90 degree point, you may want to prune back to a lateral or side branch that is growing above the 90 degree plane. Be sure not to leave a stub. Stubs do not heal quickly and are entrances for insects and disease. Some varieties naturally have a ‘leggy’ or ‘willowy’ growth habit. Keep this in mind as you shape the tree.

Do you have a gardening question? In Delaware County, call our Master Gardeners hortline at 610-690-2671 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 AM-12 NOON.

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