Do This NOW, Prune Less Later: A Guide To Summer Pruning Fruit Trees, by 2 Minute Garden Tips on YouTube. 4 min 30 s.
- Video length
- 4 min 30 s
- Time to do it
- 30 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 7
What you need
Steps
Choose your window. Prune in summer once the first flush of new growth has hardened, usually late June to August, while the tree is still growing but not pushing soft new shoots.
Cut back the long new shoots around the outside of the canopy to keep the tree compact. Take each shoot back to three to five leaves or to a side branch.
Remove water sprouts and suckers, the fast upright shoots coming off the trunk and main limbs. Cut them flush at the collar rather than leaving stubs.
Thin out crowded branches so light and air reach the fruit. Take out crossing, rubbing or badly placed limbs first.
Make each cut just outside the branch collar, the raised ring where the branch meets the trunk. Keep your shears sharp so the bark is not crushed.
Stop once you have removed about a fifth to a quarter of the leafy canopy. Summer cuts weaken the tree, so heavy shaping is a winter job.
Clear the prunings from the ground and pick off any shrivelled fruit still hanging on the tree, then water the tree if the weather is dry.
Tips and common mistakes
Skip summer pruning during a heat wave or drought, since the tree is already under stress.
Clean your blade with rubbing alcohol between trees so you do not pass disease along.
Leave the big structural cuts for winter dormancy and use summer only for size control and thinning.
Summer cuts regrow less than winter cuts, so this is the easier way to keep a vigorous tree in bounds.
Questions
Can I prune an apple tree in summer?
Yes. Light summer pruning is fine on apples, pears, plums and most deciduous fruit trees. Keep it to thinning and shortening new growth rather than major limb removal.
Will summer pruning reduce my fruit harvest?
It can reduce yield slightly if you cut too hard, because you remove leaves that feed the fruit. Stay under a quarter of the canopy and the crop should be fine.
Do I need to seal the cuts?
No. A clean cut just outside the branch collar heals on its own, and sealants can trap moisture and disease.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
