Fruit trees can be grown for fruit or shade. If you are growing a fruit tree for shade, pruning is not necessary. If you are growing a fruit tree for fruit, you should prune. A fruit tree that goes unpruned will produce fruit, but in all likelihood, the fruit will be smaller and less flavorful…
Pruning
Pear Pruning
Pear trees are best pruned in winter when they are dormant. There are several varieties of pear trees and habits of growth differ widely. All pear trees produce fruit from spurs on wood two- and three-years-old. Fruiting spurs should be preserved when pear trees are pruned. For a backyard pear tree, you can choose to…
Apple Pruning
Apple trees are best pruned in winter when they are dormant. Young apple trees can grow narrow and erect or open and spreading. At maturity, the apple tree will be spreading. Prune young narrow and erect apple trees by cutting branches just above buds which are pointed away from the center of the tree. Prune…
Young Fruit Tree Training and Pruning
Young fruit trees require early training. It is best to begin training a fruit tree as soon as it is planted. Young tree training is best continued for the first three or four years of the tree’s life. Training a fruit tree includes staking, pruning, and branch spreading. All of these will help create a…
