Pruning Young Trees After Planting

Pruning Young Trees After Planting How to prune your newly planted tree

Prune apple, pear, quince and medlar trees as below during the months Dec – March.
Prune plum, gage, damson and cherry trees as below during the months May – July.

Instructions if you have a single stem tree with no side branches - refered to as a 'Maiden'

Prune the main stem back , this will encourage side branches to grow in the following summer.

Reduce the main stem to a height at which you would like side branches to form. This is generally between 1m – 1.5m from the ground. Cut to a bud.

Instructions if your tree already has side branches - refered to as a 'Feathered Tree'

You can prune back any side branches that are longer than 15cm by half their length. Prune to a bud. Eg, a 50cm side branch can be pruned back to 25cm.

If the branches are less than 15cm then leave them unpruned.

If you want to create a goblet shaped tree (open centre) then prune the main stem back to an existing side branch.

If you want to create a centre-leader tree (Christmas tree shape) then prune the main stem back to 15-20cm above an existing side branch.



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Pruning for Espaliers and Fans

Prune the tree down to around 35 – 45cm from the ground. Prune to a bud. See our website for details on how to train the new growth for these forms.

Pruning for Cordons

If starting with a feathered maiden, prune all side branches back to 10cm. Prune back the main stem to 15cm above a side branch. Any side branches that are less than 15cm can be left unpruned.

If starting with a maiden, prune the main stem back by 1/3 of its length.