How to Trim a Fruit Tree
Trimming fruit trees are usually more for crop or production factors than aesthetic ones. Another goal is to expose more fruitful branches to the sunlight or to let the sunlight penetrate the majority of the tree’s branches. Here’s how to trim a fruit tree.
Use proper pruning shears for tree branches before starting. Think of them as your surgical knives, and when you use a dull one, the wound won’t heal properly and will introduce fungi and other infections to the tree. So make sure your pruning shears are clean and freshly-sharpened.
The best time to prune fruit trees is yearly, during early spring when the trees are actively growing.
Here’s where your observation skills are needed: Identify the branches of your tree that has been productive and mark them as branches that you will not cut off. Similarly, stronger branches that can be identified by their fruit productivity, thickness, springiness, and number of healthy leaves should remain uncut as well.
Cut away branches that are diseased, dried-out, rotting, small or simply unproductive. Strong branches can be removed if you observe that they are not productive and are simply getting in the way of other more fruit-bearing branches from getting their sunlight.
Don’t overstrip the tree of its outer branches. Remove inner branches as well, to allow the sunlight to penetrate through to reach all the branches.
Trim the tree into a funnel shape, with the tree’s tip tapering towards the top and into the sky. This is the most efficient shape, as this exposes the more mature and stronger branches pointing upward to sunlight.
Aggressive pruning and trimming is sometimes called for, but as a precaution, just take off enough to lighten the load. Over-trimming can sometimes cause death for a tree, so trim with a light hand, especially if you’re a beginner.