CUT YOUR TREES down to size! | Summer Pruning Fruit Trees |(Season 4)

Summer pruning is key in keeping your trees in a manageable size, and desired shape. This means your trees stay in balance with themselves, provide a strong fruiting structure, and keep a shape and size that works for your landscape and desired look/management.
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[@TheBusyGardener]

*Did you know that your plants will grow better when you hit "join" above?* 😂 Seriously, would you consider supporting The Busy Gardener as a monthly member? A couple bucks a month gets you some sweet perks. kzbin.info/door/GQtXp5PQ0qIHUIx-8kkR0Qjoin

[@josefalawson3049]

Best tutorial, I'm a newbie fruit and berry small-time gardener in the cold part of Canada and so intimated about pruning my fruit trees, NOT anymore after watching you. Thanks. I'm a new subscriber.

[@krazzykevan]

Watching pruning is addicting!!!

[@acemaven1553]

Super helpful! Really clarified the difference between summer and winter pruning. Binge watching all your videos now!

[@TheBusyGardener]

Thanks for watching, Acemaven!

[@tonyalvanos1630]

Very helpful. Good to know it's safe to top pruning in the summer

[@TheBusyGardener]

Yup!

[@strflyr78]

great video! thanks

[@miabagley2202]

Thanks for this! I have an older apple tree that is completely out of hand. I started pruning but didn't really know what I was doing. I have a much better idea now and I'm not afraid (much)!

[@miabagley2202]

I'm on the opposite end of the country. Mid-Atlantic, zone 7b.

[@TheBusyGardener]

You are so welcome! I have a neighbor whose trees were legitimately neglected. It made a huge difference to just clean it up a bit.

[@jollenahancen5278]

Very helpful. Thanks

[@TheBusyGardener]

Glad to help. Thanks for watching!

[@stanmack6171]

Thanks for the tips on having a good set of pruning sheers. I need another set.....I would love to see Mr. Tom prune that large tree of yours in less then 9 seconds.

[@TheBusyGardener]

Tom would just look at that tree and it would prune itself, lol!

[@stanmack6171]

Facts!!!!!!!!!!!

[@nmnate]

I think my winter pruning comes just before the trees break bud. I think you can get a good idea of what is freeze damaged and good wood, as well as some trees may have disease problems if you prune them when conditions aren't right. I summer prune my trees probably 3x, usually cutting each flush of growth back by 1/2 or 2/3. Some trees you may want to use summer pruning to encourage the formation of fruiting spurs (apples). Hard winter pruning usually encourages strong vegetative growth the following season, but once your trees are to size, you want to encourage fruiting wood.

[@StormchaserDeanSmith]

For lower branches can I cut the lower branches to mow and weedwack under and around better

[@metubeslave]

i wanted to see exactly where you cut the long branches.

[@timsimmons3479]

Great video Cameron. I'm in Nashville (Zone 7b) and my peach , apple, and pear trees are loaded with water sprouts and Heavy growth. I pruned several 5yr old peach trees heavily in Feb (down to 8ft) so that -with an April 21 Hard freeze hasn't produced many peaches. I'm wondering if I should go ahead now (June) and cut back some of the heavy growth shading the center of the peach trees and the heavy vertical growth on the pear and apple trees? Some of these verticals are 4-5 ft. I have been successful getting several apple trees (Honeycrisp and Winesap) to produce this year by spreading the branches but there are tons of watersprouts above 3 ft..

[@TheBusyGardener]

I usually reserve opening up the center during Winter pruning, because during the summer the extra foliage protects the interior from the sun. Generally want to remove water sprouts because they take away from the productive parts of the tree

[@blissbackyard7052]

Plant more mangoes! I need to learn how to keep them small but still bear fruits. 😉

[@TheBusyGardener]

I love mangoes! Once this "Manila" fruits, I'll feel more emboldened to plant more. As far as keeping them small, keep them bushy with a dense canopy.

[@shaynaingram7714]

I accidentally started playing this in my office bathroom and got some curious looks 🤣

[@TheBusyGardener]

Lol, Shayna! Thankfully this is one of the less embarrassing things you could have played.

[@liz-sy2lj]

hello, new to your channel--love it. okay, so i do have questions and i plan to watch your other pruning videos. i'm confused about what exactly is "fruiting wood" --with regard to plum trees. i have a european plum that is about 8 years old--never flowered, never fruited. so i bought a green gage in the hopes that this will settle the problem. in the meantime, that sucker grows like nothing i've ever seen. i'm afraid to cut off wood that might produce fruit. any thoughts?

[@TheBusyGardener]

Fruiting wood on most stone fruit refers to year old growth that will flower and fruit during the next season. It usually has bunches of tiny 3 bud groups which indicate it's more than just vegetative. Feel free to prune, as that gives opportunity for new growth. Possible your plum needs a compatible pollinator to set fruit

[@rdcsqualus]

Which State are you in? Love your videos. I will watch this over netflix any day. God bless you!

[@TheBusyGardener]

So kind! Thanks for watching 😊

[@cochambre62]

Hi Cameron, everything looks good! How old are your cherry trees, and what kind on mango do you have. Thanks and keep doing the good work.

[@TheBusyGardener]

Hi Luisa, Thanks! Cherry trees are 4 years in the ground. Mango is "Manila". Hoping to see some fruit from it this next year as it recovers from that bark damage.

[@cochambre62]

Sure it will. You are doing a great job!

[@ChefRonJenkins]

Good video, this concept will work great in my food forest! Have you every tried this with any nut trees

[@TheBusyGardener]

Thanks Ron! Glad to hear it gave some guidance! I haven't grown any nut trees, mainly because the intensive processing after harvest just doesn't feel worth it, given how relatively cheap a pound of nuts is at the store. That, and in SoCal we've got less chill hours than most nut trees need.

[@ChefRonJenkins]

@@TheBusyGardener cool! I guess I will experiment with some nut trees over the next couple of years

[@TheBusyGardener]

@@ChefRonJenkins I should add that I'm not aware of any reason why you shouldn't do that. They're deciduous trees, and while specific types may have differing preferences, you should be able to control height by pruning

[@simpleperrydiselife]

What kind of paint you use for your trees? I'm going to add more trees to my orchard next year. so I'm going to do some pruning this winter because they are way taller than me.😊 Thank you so much!!

[@TheBusyGardener]

Thanks for tuning in! For painting my trees, I exclusively use IV Organics 3in1 Tree Guard (it's organic & non-toxic): amzn.to/2ETVZs2

[@yummytummy88]

Hi. Got a question for you. From watching your channel, I was motivated to be a backyard gardener 2 years ago. Last year, I bought a peach and a nectarine bare rooted tree and Nursey in California. I believe it came from David Wilson Nursey. I planted them in ground and it came out green. It has beautiful flowers in the spring but during the mid summer, I notice some of the new leaf starts to rot. The tips of half of my tree has this smiliar issue. I does not look like the common leaf cruel issue. The tree it self look perfectly health and lush. Nice green color all around with exception to the tip rooting. Any idea or suggestions on how to result this growing pain? Thanks in advance.

[@TheBusyGardener]

That sounds like Brown Rot and affects all types of stone fruit. In short, it's a fungus, so using a fungicide (like this organic copper spray amzn.to/3ZMMG5D ) will help to kill what's there. You want to use pruning to open up the canopy and encourage air flow and sunlight. Remove affected fruit and foliage from the area so it doesn't harbor more fungi.

[@benzworks8453]

Where do you source your mulch wood chips? What size and grind is that. I'm looking to do that to my back yard orchard lay down full mulch to cover everything that isn't lawn or concrete like Tom Spelman says..I'm here in so cal, north county SD on the border of Temecula. I've gotten stuff before at El Corazon in Oceanside and Agriscape in Temecula.

[@TheBusyGardener]

Hi Gio! I have gotten great service from Viramontes Express in Corona, CA. I purchase their sequoia blend.

[@benzworks8453]

@@TheBusyGardener ok thanks man. Appreciate the response.

[@DucPham-ok5ko]

I'm living in MN (zone 4 B). I got some Asian pear trees. I watched a lot of clips about pruning. I'm confusing about that. What's different between summer pruning and winter pruning? which one for more fruit and which one for shape

[@TheBusyGardener]

In a nutshell, Summer prune for managing overall size, and winter prune for detail (watch my "5 D's of winter pruning" vid for that )

[@michaelagibbs9695]

I need to prune my peach and plum tree but I planted sweet potatoes as ground cover, which did a fantastic job but now I can't get close to the trees 😳🙄

[@TheBusyGardener]

Like painting yourself into a corner! Time for something on a boom pole. Or time for a potato harvest, lol!

[@dianem7677]

...oh, thanks, you helped me a lot. I was overwhelmed by my apricot tree that started growing like crazy. Now I know that I can cut it in summer, too! My apricot is an early fruit, we just finished our crop. It was small this year (2021 was huge ). Can I prune in June (CA)?

[@TheBusyGardener]

Glad it helped! On your question: After harvest is a GREAT time to prune stone fruit. It controls size, AND gives a chance for additional wood to grow, which is likely gonna fruit next season

[@dianem7677]

@@TheBusyGardener ...thank you so much.

[@gbuki2253]

I heard you say that you painted over your bark. I have a 2 year old lemon tree that’s growing like crazy. The trunk size at the base is about 3 inches now and the bark is beginning to peel and fall off and the leaves are curling. Any ideas? Thanks!

[@TheBusyGardener]

yikes! Could be lots of stuff. Any heat or cold stress? Over or under watering? When you say they're curling, do you mean folding like a taco, or crumbling into a ball?

[@gaylefynaut562]

Hi, we have a five fruit tree and a nectarine tree that have broken branches from, one from heavy fruit and another from my lab picking his own fruit. I didn’t realize he actually broke branches. Some are really bad. Could I still save them by cutting off the branches now in 100 degree weather, or should I wait till late September? I’m worried because some of the breakage actually torn from the main trunk. Thank you. Oh my nectarine tree is still very young.

[@TheBusyGardener]

That's such a bummer when that happens 😢 You can cut the branches off now! Anytime you've got breakage it's ok to remove a branch

[@gaylefynaut562]

@@TheBusyGardener thank you. I hope they survive.

[@robkeller3431]

Do you leave the leaves on the ground to use as mulch or do you trash them?

[@TheBusyGardener]

Leave them. Branches go, leaves stay (unless they're infested with something like a bunch of fungus or something

[@TheBusyGardener]

Get yourself some pruners and get out there! If you're looking for a quality pruning shear/lopper, here are a couple I use and recommend: Felco "F-8" Ergonomic Bypass Shears amzn.to/2WVO0Sc , Fiskars Extendable Bypass Loppers amzn.to/2CYG6zR. How has your pruning gone this season?

[@TheAdamballah]

It would be great if you added Canadian amazon links. Cheers.

[@yerneedsry]

Do you take the large tree down to size after you harvest or when ?

[@TheBusyGardener]

Generally, I'm waiting till after harvest to do summer pruning. Which, because we have successively ripening cultivars, means we can spread that pruning out

[@kimiwaffles]

i’m worried about summer pruning in case i cut all of this years growth for next year fruiting

[@TheBusyGardener]

You'll lose some fruiting wood. But you will keep your trees at a manageable height. Any pruning will remove SOME fruiting wood. It's a balance of what you're trying to accomplish with your tree!

[@nygrlinnv]

I learned that you prune at the time of harvest and right before dormancy.

[@TheBusyGardener]

Those are two great times to prune if you're going to prune only twice. For me, I like pruning more regularly because some trees just boom too much otherwise, but after harvest and before dormancy make sense. I'd consider pruning while dormant (or at least when leaves are gone) so you can spot issues that would otherwise be hidden by the leaves. It's amazing how much you can see without a bunch of leaves obscuring things.

[@bellagioia1304]

im confused as to why youre doing heading cuts-- im a fruit tree specialist but im never really sure when heading cuts are actually appropriate lol

[@bellagioia1304]

I understand bringing the height down, but why arent you cutting at a lateral bud?

[@TheBusyGardener]

Great question. For summer pruning I'm generally just reducing size of branches I'm gonna remove in winter. For branches I'm keeping I make cuts at lateral buds.

[@tactfulhbean8773]

too repetitive saying the same thing again and again and again.

[@TheBusyGardener]

Agreed there was lots of repetition! Hoping to reinforce the concepts so someone less experienced can see what I'm doing and why I'm doing it at each step. Thanks for watching!

[@bkershaccount]

@@TheBusyGardener props on taking the criticism and approving. part of what i love about your channel is your good energy.

[@robertc5387]

Don’t worry about the repetition - some folks like me need to hear it multiple times to have it drummed into our heads. All your videos are very informative and encouraging.