I been researching many sources as to how and when I should prune our decorative front yard plum tree. Most summers it produces quite a good crop of delicious small plums. I attach a photo of the poor thing and know it would appreciate any advice you might have for us. Gary
the other question to answer when thinking of pruning is why. dead, diseased, damaged. structural issues size control aesthetics some logical reasons.
Thanks for that, jimmyq. Those questions need to be considered. In this case there is no evidence of it being dead, diseased nor damaged. It appears to me to be structurally sound. Size and aesthetics would be my reasons for pruning. The area in front of our home is quite small and on the sunny side of the building. My reason for the post is to hopefully to find out when to prune ( I've read some conflicting information on that --- one source says in the late fall and another that I should wait until the first buds appear in the Spring). Do I just initially shape it as in a wine glass contour and then remove the vertical branches? Appreciate any advice. Gary
timing of pruning I would suggest mid to late winter (ie now for the PNW), feel free to thin it in summer as needed. re wine glass contour or such, thats up to you as you deem aesthetically pleasing. removing vertical branches might be appropriate if they are epicormic (suckers, watersprouts) or otherwise undesirable.
