Pruning fruit trees?

[LittleMissCountry]

We bought six fruit trees from Lowes back in the fall and planted them. They are flourishing, even after some late freezes.
So my question is when and how do we prune them? They are growing well and seem to have strong established roots. We have 2 apple, 2 pear, and 2 peach. I have been reading contradictory advice on how and when to prune.
Any experienced fruit tree people out there?

 

[Trish1974]

I have been reading contradictory advice on how and when to prune.

Me too. I am scared to prune mine, and they are about a year overdue, going on two. I'll be following to see what others have to say...

 

[oregonkat]

The absolute best pruning advice that I have received has been from Trees of Antiquity. The guy who runs the place is super at giving advice. So here is what he told me:
Take 4 to 5 of the best branches on the trees (new trees) and prune them to 4 - 5 buds. Yup, that means taking those babies down to a scary place. Prune out all other branches so that you have a balanced scaffold of branches around the trunk. Also take the leader (the main top upright branch) down also to 4 buds.
Some of my trees I bought from them and pruned as above and others I got from Costco and did not prune the costco ones in time and now I have a difficult scaffold to deal with. If you do a severe pruning now, you will end up with a happier tree and a happier you in the future.
Visit their web site and contact them with questions, he is very happy to answer questions.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I recently just pruned mine. I do it while they are dormant. I remove any touching branches, cut back the ends to outward facing buds, and generally prunes as my mother says, " so birds could freely fly through the branches" to open up the structure. Prune lightly the first few years.

 

[Dayrel]

Yup. Generally, you only prune when dormant (no leaves/buds on the branches)- so late fall/early spring. You can do some light pruning even now if you have damaged branches or ones that are creating problems. Once you have a little experience, pruning once/year won't be a major effort.

You might want to consider pruning your trees to keep them smaller rather then letting them grow uncontrolled. Depending on your age and other factors, it is nice to be able to just reach up and access fruit rather then needing a ladder.

Finally, about your tools. You should use bypass loppers (work like scissors) rather then hammer loppers (one flat and one sharp side which tend to crush branches). Also, wipe down the blades with alcohol between each tree to prevent spreading of disease.

 

[LittleMissCountry]

Thank you everyone for the great advice! I feel much better about pruning them now. It sounds like I need to wait until fall. I may take pictures of them to get specific advice about certain branches.

 

[Duckstail]

Pruning in winter will yeild the best results

 

[LittleMissCountry]

Pruning in winter will yeild the best results

Really? I did not know that. Thank you.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Really? I did not know that. Thank you.

I'm not pruning in winter here, it's too cold. Best to prune when they are dormant.

You can definitely prune when they are growing. My rule is the smaller the tree the more they will be affected by losing branches during the growing season. I have pruned when necessary.

It's easier to see what you are doing too when there's no leaves, so dormant pruning is best, but don't be afraid to remove rubbing branches or those in the way during the growing season as long as you don't remove too much of the tree. I believe you are supposed to remove no more than 1/3 of the branches at a time.