Pruning Young Trees:

 For Young Trees ,2-4 yrs

When pruning a Pome (apple/pear/quince) fruit tree it is recommended to carry this out during the winter while the tree is dormant.

Always remember to cut at a 45°
angle and to wash any pruning equipment in a sterilising solution especially if you are dealing with anything diseased. This will help prevent the spread of contamination.

The priority is to get rid of anything dead, dying or diseased. The goal is to manage the plant’s growth so that energy is directed into establishing the roots and healthy branches.

You then want to remove any vertical and acute growing branches. These branches won’t be able to support the weight of fruit and usually end up getting damaged.

You also want to prune away any branches that cluster or cross over. When these grow larger, they’ll damage one another and help the spread of disease and pests.

This may require you to cut as much as a 1/3 of all your branches if the tree is particularly unkempt.

You should be looking to train the tree as horizontally as possible. So, with the branches you have left you should cut back to an outward facing bud. This will stimulate growth from this bud training the branch outwards.

In the early years pruning is a form of training designed to stimulate growth in

branches capable of supplying fruit. Even though by this point the side shoots may be very small it is a good idea to cut them off if they’re growing inward to maintain the desired shape early on.