3 Simple Steps to Guide You When Pruning Your Fruit Trees
If you have some fruit trees in your garden, you shouldn't just know why and when you should prune them, but also the steps that should guide the pruning process. Pruning fruit trees in summer or even during the spring is a good idea, but wintertime is the best time to do so. Most trees are dormant during the cold season, and they don't experience much stress when pruned or cut back. Since most fruit trees have shed their leaves during wintertime, you will easily spot the areas you should prune. Pruning fruit trees isn't difficult as long as you know the steps that guide it.
Put the right tools together
Pruning the fruit trees at the right time won't be effective if you didn't use the right tools to prune them. Pruning tools shouldn't just be sharp, but they should also be clean. Tools with dull blades will damage and stress the fruit trees and even tear the limbs. You should clean the pruning tools before you prune the next fruit tree. If you don't, you might transfer diseases from one fruit tree to another through the blades. A pruning saw, hand pruner and lopper are the three vital tools you need to prune your fruit trees, and you should clean them with rubbing alcohol after use.
Identify the damaged and dead parts
Although you know the fruit trees you should prune this season, you still need to identify the specific parts that should be pruned. You don't just prune the dead or diseased branches, but also the damaged limbs. If you don't prune the damaged or diseased limbs in good time, the fruit trees might spend a lot of energy trying to heal them. Avoid making unnecessary cuts since they might affect the productivity and overall health of your fruit trees in a big way. Hire a professional to prune the fruit trees since they know how to avoid the tiny stubs that later cause unwanted growth.
Thin out to let in more light
The tree pruning process isn't complete before you do a little thinning. How you thin out your fruit trees determine how productive they become. However, thinning out doesn't have to be complicated; just keep it simple. Here, you assume the trees have a window shade or blind that needs to be opened. Thinning out doesn't help the fruit trees to survive, but it also allows them to get adequate air and light to thrive. Identify the least healthy branches and those crossing each other and remove them. You should also thin out the branches with horizontal growth or those growing downward because they don't often hold mature fruit.
