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  N. F. Trees & Gardens January 5, 2011 at 6:03pm

  Hello Bigyin,

   

  I was going to say that it's best to not prune stone fruits in winter, but then I realised you were based on warmer shores than me!  Might be best to wait till after flowering though, but I'm not an expert by a long way!
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  Brian www.mibservices.co.uk January 5, 2011 at 6:09pm

  Hi Bigyin, it should have been done after the fruit was harvested or finished falling, late summer time is the normal time. You could still prune just now, but it may affect the growth and yield from them this summer. Fruit trees are fickle, so be gentle with it they bleed out sap big time, and at this time of the year especially with the winter we are having its not good. May be an Idea to leave alone this year.

   

  regards
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  Jenny Bloom January 5, 2011 at 6:17pm

   I wouldn't advise pruning now. Stone fruit including cherries are susceptible to silver leaf disease if pruned in winter. Established fruit trees can be pruned partly in spring (as buds burst) and again after fruiting. Same applies to the ornamental - best wait to prune til after flowering (April-July) when sap rising and disease spores not in the wind.

   

  Jenny

  www.jennybloom.co.uk
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  Bigyin January 5, 2011 at 6:58pm

  Thanks for all your input everybody.  They are young trees and the intention is just to prune out the usual ingrowing, downward growing, crossing branches to control the shape and keep them well aired.  I think that on balance, from your comments, I'd be best to leave them for now and give them a light going over after they've fruited.  The reason I didn't do it earlier is that they were in leaf until early December so I was waiting for the leaves to drop.

  Thanks again.
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  Bigyin January 5, 2011 at 10:07pm

  Thanks Colin.  I'll take note of that.
  
  colin said:

  prune fruit trees anytime when theyre not in bud or flower especially prunus, its the time when theyre most suseptible to infection as all there energy is focused on reproduction
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  Bigyin January 5, 2011 at 10:12pm

  Hi Brigitt,

  We don't get the sort of winters you get in Canada.  We've only had two or three morning frosts so far and it's gone by about 10am at the latest.  For some reason I was thinking that anytime after leaf fall would be OK and I was really surprised to see a whole bunch of big fat buds already.  I admit that I prune my olive trees a couple of months after fruiting (in fact anytime now) but then they're evergreen so don't have leaf fall.  I guess it's all part of the learning process as I'd never done any of this stuff prior to coming here about five years ago. :-(

  
  
  Brigitt Stevenson said:

  Hi Bigyin, here in Canada we prune fruit trees now, while they are dormant during the winter months, but as you said they have buds so definitely not a good time to prune because they are starting to grow this years buds, best time for you would be after harvest, that is if there is a dormancy period where you live???
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  Claire Brown January 5, 2011 at 11:12pm

  Just to clarify, - Apple and Pear can be pruned now in Winter (and I remember days in a cold field in december pruning at college) , but the Prunus family should be only pruned in summer (July/Aug) as they get silver leaf as Paul and Jenny mentioned.
  
  Brigitt Stevenson said:
  

  Hi Bigyin, here in Canada we prune fruit trees now, while they are dormant during the winter months, but as you said they have buds so definitely not a good time to prune because they are starting to grow this years buds, best time for you would be after harvest, that is if there is a dormancy period where you live???
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  Bigyin January 5, 2011 at 11:30pm

  Thanks Claire.  I'm about to buy a whole bunch of new fruit trees so perhaps I'd better list them when I have them in :-)