So I have 3 fruit trees at my parents house that have never really been pruned. Because of that, there is some overgrowth (mainly on the Bartlett pear tree).
Pictures 1 – Red delicious tree
Pictures 2 – Chinese Pear tree
Picture 3 – Bartlett Pear tree
I’m going to do some heavy pruning, and plan on cutting where the lines are, any thoughts/feedback?
Thank you!!
by Alarmed-Ad1800
8 Comments
Go for it
After the tree is pruned, it should look like an upside down umbrella.
That’s a bad plan. You are basically topping the trees which is not good, and you are removing more than 1/3 of the live material which is also not good.
Do some research into how to properly prune a fruit tree. There is absolutely a proper way to do it for the health of the tree.
Imo fruit trees only need cutting if their branches are intermingling with other trees. More distance than a sparrow can fly through, but enough for a cat to catch on to.
It will stop producing for years after. We did this to very overgrown apple trees and they got no fruit for 3 years. Now they are doing great
Proposed cuts are way too much. Only cut 1/3 at a time or you will severely shock the tree
Shape the tree like a chalice to make harvesting easier, prune the interior branches that interfere and overlap, blocking growth potential and blocking sun. Prune the outlier edge branches that can’t support the weight of fruit.
If there are nice edge branches that are shaped well and in a good direction keep them but pinch any fruit off so they grow strong first then, letting them fruit in the future as they get stronger
When your fruit tree reaches the appropriate height you can then top the center leader (if that is your preference). Letting it keep getting taller just makes harvesting harder if you need to get up on a ladder, etc. At this point you work on shaping and forming a nice, full chalice/ bowl shape
an illustrated guide to pruning, 3rd ed, by edward gilman. you’re gonna want it.
Apple orchardist here. You’ve got two options here:
– cut off the portions you suggested and probably some more. If you’re going to cut way back, do it all at once. Your production is going to take a hit at least for the next year, but if you keep pruning every winter for maintenance you can get it to a much more manageable height and density.
– take less off and wait to recoup next winter. It’s a bit late in the season for big pruning, so if you don’t want the intense production hit, that is probably the better idea.
In the future, I’d recommend pruning in January. We’re getting close to bloom and the trees don’t like to be disrupted too much once it gets going.