Pruning Fruit Trees

Winter is the ideal time to prune your fruit trees.  Pruning will keep your trees healthy and bearing quality fruit.  There are plenty of pruning videos that will give you examples to help with this task.  If the task seems a little daunting, keep these simple guidelines in mind.

Start by removing any damaged, diseased or dead wood.

Your aim is to develop a manageable tree size and shape.

Prune to develop a vase shape to allow sun into the centre of the tree.

Remove all branches growing towards the centre of the tree.  Make sure you cut them off entirely, back to a main branch.

Peaches and nectarines grow on growth from the previous year.  It is generally recommended to prune these back about 50%.

Fig, olive, walnut, almond, cherry, feijoa, persimmon, apple, pear, plum and apricot bear fruit on spurs.  It is recommended to prune these trees back about 20%.

Prune just above an outward facing bud at an angle of 45°.