How Do You Prune Dormant Fruit Trees?
Home gardeners often neglect their fruit trees, especially in the winter months. There are several important chores that fruit trees require during the dormant season, one of which is pruning. Correct pruning will not only increase your yield, but also prolong the life of your fruit tree. Remove any dead, diseased or injured wood first. Use lopping shears or a pruning saw to cut into a suspected branch: live, viable wood has a layer of green just under the bark – called the cambium, which is black or brown when a branch is dead. Injured wood is anything that has a visible wound, is discolored or has not been producing fruit. Cut any sucker growth away from the base of the tree. Suckers grow from the root stock on grafted plants and will not form fruit. They also sap strength from the upper portion of the plant. Remove any crossing branches. The framework of the tree should be open to allow for maximum air circulation. Branches that cross through the center of the tree will reduce air f
