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Fruit Tree Pruning Help

zakir145zakir145 Posts: 1
in Problem solving
Hi, Bought my first fruit tree's and planted them. I have 2 apple trees, a cherry tree and a nectarine tree. All were planted as bare root in April. I just wanted to check and get some advice on pruning/shaping. Do I need to prune any of these tree's and if so what cuts would I need to make?

Thanks 

Zak 

Posts

  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    From the pictures I would say that they have been pruned by the nursery/ grower. Think about the ultimate size & shape you want & then decide. The stone fruit Cherry & Nectarine should not be pruned in winter, to avoid infection getting in. 
    AB Still learning

  • Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713
    edited May 2019
    Here we prune our fruit trees in the middle of winter, say late December or January when they are dormant but not when there is freezing weather.  At the moment the sap is rising so you shouldn't prune now.  If you see any fruits forming, gently remove them with the tips of your fingers but don't remove any of the wood, so the energy can go into the growth of plant and not into forming fruits.
  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    One thing you can do is remove any fruit which forms this year. Although the trees look like they are already at least two years old the best thing you can do is let them get properly established before letting them crop. Then gradually increase the amount of fruit you let them bear over the next couple of years. They look well prepared with a nice open bowl shape which you should ultimately try to keep in future years.

    In addition to the excellent Harry Baker book have a look for on-line guides. I think Ashridge Trees had some excellent video tutorials.
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