A Basic Guide to Winter Pruning for Fruit Trees, by Terra Viva Home & Garden on YouTube. 6 min 27 s.
- Video length
- 6 min 27 s
- Time to do it
- 45 minutes per tree
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Pick a dry, sunny day in winter when the tree is fully dormant. Wet weather spreads spores into fresh cuts, so wait for a clear spell.
Clean and sharpen your secateurs, loppers and saw first. Sharp blades make clean cuts that heal faster than crushed, ragged ones.
Start with the 4 D's: cut out anything dead, diseased or damaged. Take these branches back to healthy wood, and remove any broken stubs.
Look at the spacing of your main scaffold branches. Remove branches that crowd each other so light and air can reach the middle of the tree.
Thin out weak, crossing and rubbing branches. Where two branches touch, one will wound the other, so take out the weaker one.
Reduce the tall shoots the tree put on last summer. Cut them back to a side branch rather than leaving long bare stubs.
Make each cut just outside the branch collar, the slight swollen ring where the branch meets the trunk. Never cut flush, as this opens the trunk to rot.
Angle each cut so rainwater runs off the wound instead of sitting in it. Then paint the cut with pruning paste to seal it.
After pruning, spray the tree with copper and spraying oil if you use them. This helps keep pests and disease away through the rest of winter.
Tips and common mistakes
Stand back and look at the whole tree between cuts so you do not remove too much in one go.
Wear gloves and eye protection, and keep both hands clear of the blade when you squeeze the secateurs.
Do not take off more than about a quarter of the canopy in a single winter.
Wipe your blades with methylated spirits between trees so you do not carry disease from one to the next.
Questions
When is the best time to prune a fruit tree?
Mid to late winter while the tree is dormant, on a dry sunny day. Avoid pruning in hard frost or when rain is due, as damp wounds invite disease.
Should I seal every cut with pruning paste?
Seal cuts wider than a pencil, and any cut on the main trunk or scaffold branches. Small twig cuts heal on their own.
Can I prune plum and cherry trees the same way?
Yes, the same thinning and 4 D's approach works. Stone fruit is best pruned in late winter or early spring rather than midwinter, so wounds heal quickly.
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.
