Oliver Pemberton
Why pruning matters for your fruit trees
Pruning can feel like the most intimidating job on the allotment. You stand there with secateurs in hand, worried about cutting off next year's crop. But here's the reassuring truth: fruit trees are remarkably forgiving. Pruning is simply the art of helping your tree do what it wants to do – produce good fruit – without letting it tie itself in knots. A well-pruned apple, pear or plum will have better air circulation through the branches, which reduces the risk of fungal diseases like scab and canker. Light reaches the ripening fruit, so you get larger, sweeter crops. And you can actually reach the fruit to pick it. For beginners, the goal isn't perfection. It's a healthy, open-centred tree that you can manage from a step ladder.
When to prune: timing is everything
The biggest mistake new growers make is pruning at the wrong time of year. Different fruit trees have different needs, and getting the season right is more important than making the perfect cut.
- Apples and pears: Prune in winter when the tree is dormant, from November to March. Avoid frosty days when wood is brittle. For trained forms like espaliers, cordons and fans, do your main pruning in late July or August – this restricts growth and encourages fruiting spurs.
- Plums, damsons and cherries: These stone fruits must be pruned in summer, ideally late June to August. Never prune them in winter. Silver leaf disease and bacterial canker enter through winter wounds, and a summer prune gives cuts time to heal before the cold sets in.
- Dead, diseased or damaged wood: Remove this at any time of year. If a branch is broken in a storm, cut it back cleanly straight away.
If you inherit a neglected tree, don't try to fix it all in one go. Spread renovation pruning over two or three winters for apples and pears, or two or three summers for plums.
The basic cuts and the right tools
You need three tools: a pair of sharp bypass secateurs for twigs up to finger thickness, loppers for branches up to your wrist, and a pruning saw for anything thicker. Bypass secateurs cut like scissors – anvil types crush the wood and should be avoided. Keep your tools clean. Wipe the blades with methylated spirits between trees to avoid spreading disease.
Now for the cuts themselves. Work through this checklist every time:
- Remove dead, diseased, damaged or rubbing branches first.
- Remove suckers growing from the rootstock or below the graft union.
- Open up the centre of the tree by taking out branches that grow inwards or cross over others.
- Cut back to an outward-facing bud or branch. Make the cut sloping away from the bud, about 5mm above it.
- Never leave a stub. Cut back to the branch collar – the slight swelling where the branch meets the trunk – but don't cut into it.
For branches thicker than your thumb, use the three-cut method: first make a small undercut about 30cm from the trunk, then a top cut slightly further out so the branch falls away, then a final clean cut at the collar.
Pruning apples and pears
Most apples and pears are spur-bearing. They produce fruit on short, stubby shoots called spurs that form on older wood. Your job is to encourage a steady supply of new wood for next year's spurs, while removing old, congested growth. Aim for a goblet or open-centred shape with three to five main branches and plenty of light and air in the middle.
For a young tree, winter pruning is about building the framework. Choose three or four well-spaced branches to keep, and shorten the previous year's growth on each by about a third, cutting to an outward-facing bud. Remove any branches that compete with the leader or grow inwards. Once the framework is established, maintenance pruning is lighter. Each winter, remove a quarter of the oldest wood – the dark, twiggy, unproductive spurs – and thin out congested areas. Don't remove more than 25% of the canopy in one winter. For tip-bearing varieties, which fruit at the ends of long shoots, prune lightly in late summer instead, just removing dead wood and thinning crowded branches.
Pruning plums, damsons and cherries
Stone fruits play by different rules. They are prone to silver leaf and bacterial canker, both of which enter through pruning wounds in wet, cold weather. That is why you prune in summer – ideally late June to August – when the tree is in active growth and can seal the cuts quickly. If your plum is carrying a heavy crop, wait until after you have picked the fruit, but don't leave it later than early September.
Plums and damsons fruit on spurs and on the previous year's wood. They don't respond well to hard pruning – you can easily encourage a forest of whippy growth instead of fruit. For a young tree, simply remove crossing branches and shorten the main shoots by a quarter to encourage branching. For a mature tree, thin out congested growth, remove dead or diseased wood, and take out any branches that are rubbing. Keep the centre open. Cherries are similar: prune in summer, remove dead wood, and avoid cutting into old, thick branches unless absolutely necessary. If you must remove a large limb, do it in late July and seal the wound with a pruning sealant – though many growers now skip the sealant and rely on dry weather instead.
Aftercare and a few final tips
After pruning, give your tree a little TLC. In spring, scatter a balanced fertiliser around the root zone and mulch with well-rotted manure or compost, keeping it clear of the trunk. Water young trees during dry spells. Collect all prunings, especially any diseased wood, and burn or bin them – don't put them on the compost heap. Disinfect your tools again when you've finished.
Most importantly, don't be afraid of making mistakes. Every gardener has cut off a branch they later regretted. Start with the dead and diseased wood, step back and look at the shape, then make a few considered cuts. Your tree will tell you if you've gone too far – it will send up lots of new shoots – and you can adjust next year. A well-pruned fruit tree is a generous thing: it gives you better fruit, easier picking, and a beautiful structure in winter. Enjoy the process, and happy pruning.
