It is so confusing in the garden at the moment with the weather upside down and topsy-turvy, hot when it should be cold, dry when it should be wet, soil heating up instead of cooling down and trees growing when they should be dormant.
Even though we are only a few weeks from winter, the warm weather means that some of us may not have completed the summer prune yet, (the prune done once the summer growth has finished). If this is the case, don’t wait much longer, get that done now. This would normally be done shortly after the tree has fruited, but with this weather some trees have kept fruiting and are still putting on growth, rather than going dormant.
If you still have fruit, you can leave it for now and see what happens, but for the rest of the tree, any upward growth, cut that back to just below the reach of your outstretched arm. Do this before the tree goes dormant. This prune is designed to reduce the vegetative growth in spring.
Once you have done that, in winter, assuming that will arrive at some stage soon, hopefully with some rain for us in the south, and when the tree is dormant, you can prune to shape and tidy the tree, removing cross overs or branches growing in the wrong direction. It is also a good time to feed the tree, compost and mulch. We have a big oak that gives us plenty of leaves that the fruit trees seem to love as mulch, and it keeps the weeds and grass from growing around it, meaning no mowing required!
As a broad guide
Summer pruning
Inhibit growth to maintain its size and shape
Summer pruning
Inhibit growth to maintain its size and shape
Winter pruning
Promotes vigorous growth for spring, so prune in winter to encourage a good basic structure for a young tree or when trying to adjust the shape of a mature tree.
Promotes vigorous growth for spring, so prune in winter to encourage a good basic structure for a young tree or when trying to adjust the shape of a mature tree.
Enjoy
Peter