Pruning - When and How
For your fruit trees
So when is the best time to prune your fruit trees, grape vines, and berry bushes in the Salem-Keizer area? The short answer: January to March, while the tree is dormant and before the new growth really takes off. Oregon State University has some great resources available on pruning.
Some people say to prune before the sap starts flowing. I’ve found that to be a bad answer because I suspect that sap is always flowing at some level to live branches and that I have no way to measure the flow rate of sap in a tree.
The main reasons we prune trees and berries are for health, shape, and production. Pruning for these three reasons is an ongoing project with tasks that vary from year to year.
Health
When pruning, we start with removing the dead and diseased wood. We also remove any branches that are rubbing or crossed over each other. These areas can be where diseases can enter the tree. Also in this pruning round we look for any broken, damaged, or hazardous branches. When finished with this round we clean our cutters. This is to limit the spread of any infection form the diseased wood we just took off.
Shape
Next we prune to raise the canopy. This allows for people or cars to go under, or to adjust the field of vision fo the area under the canopy. This one is a personal pet peeve of mine. I have been in yards mowing under these low branches. Not fun to hit your head.
Next, we look to prune in a way that rejuvenates the tree. To do this we remove some of the old wood in a way that creates new wood. We also look to ensure that the canopy will get adequate air flow and sunlight. Good air flow and sunlight are important because they reduce the ability of diseases to get into the tree. Removing branches to get air flow also tends to give the tree a more aesthetically pleasing look.
As far as water sprouts, those branches that shoot straight up 6′ feet or more, those require a little different timing. If you are trying to eliminate them, you would need to prune them in the late spring when they are small. Pruning them in winter makes them regrow next year.
Production
Production may not be important if you have an oak or maple but may be the most important reason if you have an apple or peach tree. When we prune for production, we eliminate limbs that are going down or straight up. Limit the height for what makes sense for you to be able to pick the fruit. We also prune with a focus on increasing the strength of limbs that are coming away from the center at a 45 degree angle. Last, we look to maintain the fruit spurs (where fruit forms on the tree.)
These are good things to keep in mind when you want to increase the vigor of the tree. If you are finding that the tree is getting out of control, you would want to prune in May or June
Final Thoughts on Pruning
This may sound like a lot of work, and sometimes it is. The good news is that if it is a lot of work, the tree is probably healthy and mature and can handle a lot of work. If it’s big and unhealthy, it may need to be taken down; a hard decision some times. If it’s small, it shouldn’t be much work.
If the tree is small and newly planted, there will be several important stages of pruning over the first 3 years to shape it.
Give Bob’s Lawn Care a call or text to schedule an appointment to have your trees, berries, and vines pruned