How to prune Apple, Pear and Cherry trees
Pruning, especially tree pruning, is something that fills many gardeners with dread, and if you are dealing with a fruit tree or valued shrub, it will be worth looking for professional help. If you are getting in a professional, look for an experienced horticulturist as opposed to someone who only works as a landscape gardener or garden designer. Tom carries out apple, pear and cherry tree pruning in the Glasgow area.
These are a few very general tips for pruning open-grown ornamental trees, such as Cherries, Apples or Hornbeams. Nearly all trees should be pruned in the winter, with the exception of Prunus species (Cherries etc) which should be pruned mid-summer to reduce the risk of Silverleaf disease.
The pictured tree is a Cherry tree that I pruned this summer, and before pruning it was a large tangled mass of intertwining and messy branches. The first thing I did was take a photograph of the tree to refer to, and I took a while to envisage what I wanted the end result to be - not easy to be honest! It is essential to maintain the shape of the tree and so there will be a number of framework branches that give the tree its shape, and these must not be touched. I climbed into the tree with a pruning saw (an invaluable bit of kit!), a pair of secateurs and some extending loppers, and I set about cutting nearly all the small internal branches back to the main framework branches. I also removed any branches that were crossing with others, giving the stronger outward-growing branches priority. Towards the outside of the canopy I was not too severe when removing branches, as a bit of fluff on the outside can help keep the shape of the tree (and sometimes to disguise errors!). I would say that on average I climbed back down the tree every 5-10 minutes, walked 15 metres away from the tree, and studied my progress - this is essential. It also gives you the opportunity to choose your next cuts.
After I had opened up the inside of the tree I could start to feel my way around the overall project a lot better. It may sound odd but you get a feel for the tree a bit, and where you should be going with the pruning. Trees want air to circulate around their branches, and it is handy to imagine a blackbird being able to easily navigate its way through the tree's branches once you have finished.
I now had to make some more difficult decisions about large branches that needed to be cut back to control the height and spread of the tree. Before choosing which branches, and where to cut, I examined each likely suspect to see what effect it would have on the shape of the tree once I removed it. Each cut was carefully placed at branch junctions, being sure to leave a clean cut and not to leave too long or too short a collar. After each of these more major cuts, I got out of the tree and re-assessed my progress.
Tom Angel is a chartered horticulturist, garden designer and landscape gardener based in Glasgow.
