Fruit Tree Pruning

Fruit tree pruning covers a number of horticultural techniques and methods that are used on fruit-bearing trees to control growth, remove dead or diseased wood, and stimulate the formation of flowers and fruit buds. Pruning often means cutting branches back, sometimes removing smaller limbs entirely. It may also mean the removal of young shoots, buds, leaves, etc. Careful attention to pruning and training young trees affects their later productivity and longevity. Good pruning and training can also prevent later injury from weak crotches (where a tree trunk splits into two or more branches) that break from the weight of fruit, snow, or ice on the branches.