What about a Second Pruning?

[James Metcalfe]

I have a variety of fruit trees. Cordon apples and pears, minnerette pears, fan plums. I follow pretty consistent advice across all my books about pruning them, however after I have pruned them a month or so later they begin to sprout again, which is about know, I have not found any advice in any books about this and traditionally I have pruned all of the growth once or twice more per season to one leaf beyond the basal cluster - Am I meant to leave this growth, because if left it grows very large before the growing season has ended - if I meant to do something with it why has nobody written about it?

Thanks for your help

James

[Nicos]

No idea.....but I chopped mine off!!!!!

Will let you know next year if I made a mistake!!!!

[Tam]

I always prune my established fruit trees, apart from the plums, late August/early September, as I was taught that late summer pruning was for producing fruit and winter pruning was to encourage growth - when you are establishing the shape of your tree or replacing old or misplaced growths. Plums I prune early June to avoid silver leaf and plums produce fruit so abundantly that they don't need any encouragement. I rarely get any secondary growth after pruning, but I certainly do prune any that I do not want.