- 1). Prune after the final serious winter frost but before the start of the full spring bloom. This will ensure that your pruned tree will not have to combat winter cold and make room for new growth in the spring.
- 2). Cut away any loose, damaged or diseased branches, making the cut flush against the spot where the branch meets the trunk or a larger branch. You should also remove the smaller or less healthy of overlapping branches; branches rubbing together can damage each other and stunt fruit production on those branches.
- 3). Remove new, small branches that have grown from the ends of major, large tree limbs. This will help to control the tree's height and make sure that the limbs can support the weight of tree production.
- 4). Prune off any thin, weak limbs or exceptionally strong, fast-growing limbs. Oregon State University Pacific Northwest Extension Service advises that you should strive to maintain limbs and shoots that are moderately strong, so that they can produce fruit but not use up all nutrients and water.
- 5). Remove any remaining excess shoots or branches. The Pacific Northwest Extension advises that your peach tree should feature six to eight scaffolding branches with 12 to 16 outer branches. Any more than this and the tree may begin to suffer from lack of nutrients.
previous post
next post