Fruit Tree Pruning

    The end of Winter and arrival of spring has seen us just finish the last of this years fruit tree pruning. We've got a number of clients up and the down the Coromandel Peninsula from Thames & Tairua in the south to Colville & Tuateawa in the north whose fruit trees are cared for by us. Some are long-standing regulars whilst others are new-comers but they provide us with a whole winter of fruit tree pruning. 

     Winter is the best time to prune most fruit trees allowing us to shape the trees for maximum production going into the coming season as well pruning out any damaged, diseased and spent wood. Many of the trees we see haven't been kept well at all and are in a seriously bad shape by the time we get there. This isn't ideal as most people want their trees instantly back to optimal height and shape and it just isn't possible in one go without ensuring we get back next year to manage to fallout. 

       Commonly we also see trees that have been subjected to years of poor pruning and although these trees may still be highly productive their health and longevity has been seriously compromised leaving them susceptible to decay and disease. Even as a trained arborist fruit tree pruning can be highly complex and a time consuming task but there are few other kinds of pruning that can be as satisfying to see the results of as fruit trees. 

Their vigour allows you to see annual results from your work and the ever watchful eye of the fruit taker never fails to notice the trees' performance or lack there of. Nothing like an abundance of fruit to complete a feedback loop of 'How did I do?'

Young fruit trees are the best to prune and this is where most people miss a great opportunity to secure themselves a long-lived, solid provider. Whilst your trees are young is when you can be pruning out large unsuitable branches and setting the scene for the tree to fit your needs and landscape.  Don't be shy
of larger cuts if things aren't as you want them but do be very mindful of where and how you make that cut. Gone are the days of pruning paint as it's really not required when a cut is correctly made (there's a blog comping on this).

Disposing of your pruning work is another important step and this is an added bonus to using Dynamic Tree Care as we take care of that too. Keep your trees mulched and sheltered and consider planting companion plants to help ward off pest and diseases whilst also attracting as many bees as possible.