If you’re new to fruit tree growing and pruning, you absolutely can’t go wrong with plums.
Some trees will stop producing well unless you give them the proper chop. But prunes will keep on chugging despite your neglect.
Of course, they’ll do much better if you treat them right, and that includes regular, strategic pruning.
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The real challenge with pruning plums is in the timing. It’s not hyperbole to say that pruning at the wrong time can kill your tree.
That might sound dramatic, but there’s a disease out there that attacks plums if you prune them at the wrong time of year.
Don’t worry, we’ll help you figure out when to start the work and everything else you need to know. Here’s what’s coming up in this guide:
There are two different stages of pruning. The first is establishing the ideal shape and the second is yearly maintenance.
Once a tree has been shaped, it’s your job to maintain it. This primarily involves removing dead, diseased, and deformed wood.
It’s not just about shaping and removing bad wood each year, though. This also helps the plant to stay productive.
Plums flower and fruit on either older wood or year-old wood, depending on the species.
When to Prune PlumsGenerally, we prune plums in the summer or winter. That’s because these trees are extremely susceptible to a disease called silver leaf.
If you prune in the spring or fall, you run the risk of infecting your trees with the fungus that causes this disease, Chondrostereum purpureum.
The fungus thrives in the wet weather of fall and spring, and that’s when this disease spreads. Open wounds provide an opportunity to attack.
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