Where space is particularly limited, plums can be trained as cordons. See our plum cordon page on this technique for more details. Renovating an old, neglected plum tree should be staged over several years. Aim for a well-balanced tree, keeping the centre of the crown free from shoots to allow good light penetration.
Trees respond to larger pruning cuts by sending up a mass of new shoots. Where this happens, the shoots will need to be thinned in the summer to leave just one or two. The tying down of young, flexible branches to the horizontal can reduce excess vigour in large, unruly trees. This technique is known as festooning, and is best done in the summer. It can help prevent trees becoming overgrown, and is also effective for pyramid plums.
Ties are left in place until the branch stays naturally at the new position, usually the following spring. Attach one end of the tie to the branch tip, and the other end to a stake or the trunk. Plums can be heavy croppers, leading to branches breaking under the weight of fruit, so thinning is important to prevent damage.
Branches already broken should be pruned back into undamaged wood, ideally cutting back to a natural fork to avoid leaving stubs.
Bare wood areas can be difficult to remedy on fruit trees. Here are a few techniques to try:. The other main problems are silver leaf disease , honey fungus , bacterial canker , pocket plum , plum aphids and plum moth. Join the RHS today and get 12 months for the price of 9. Take action Why take action? Pruning at planting is always necessary for pruning whips, but some suppliers will prune larger trees ahead of delivery.
To minimize risk of infection when you prune a plum tree at planting, keep these tips in mind:. While fruit thinning is not specifically considered a pruning task, it may be necessary for quality fruit later on.
Summer pruning will remove fruit-bearing stems, which may be all that is needed. Why might fruit thinning be used for plum trees? A heavy crop of plums will weigh down even strong scaffold limbs. Furthermore, fruit quality is higher when fruit trees can concentrate sun energy collected by leaves into fewer maturing plums.
Plum trees are known for their biennial bearing. They will produce a bumper crop of plums one year and then take a year off to store up energy and grow. Proper pruning and fruit thinning can help even out fruit production year to year. Japanese plum trees and European plum trees are the most common varieties of plums.
Because these trees grow differently, they do best with different shapes. Before you start pruning, keep two things in mind. First, always prune to a healthy bud in the direction you want new growth, which is usually upright and outward. Make clean pruning cuts for healthy stubs. Second, carefully select scaffold limbs as the framework of your tree. Scaffold limbs should ideally be at 45 degrees to the tree. Branches with narrow crotch angles can split off the mature tree under a load of plums.
Fan training is a popular method to spread out the lateral branches of a short tree among horizontal wires. This makes the tree a pretty addition to landscape, and makes tree maintenance easy. The aim is to create an open, goblet shape. Browse the fantastic range of fully mature hardy perennials, shrubs, ferns, grasses and bulbs to create a spectacular garden to enjoy all year round. Use code: GW Kick start the festive season and get in touch with your creative side with our minute online class on creating Christmas wreaths with natural materials.
The perfect seasonal addition to your garden, these low-maintenance expertly trained evergreen trees can be enjoyed for years to come. Home How to Grow plants How to prune a plum tree. You Will Need Plum tree Secateurs. Step 1 P rune all of the branches back by about a third, cutting to just above a bud. How to prune a plum tree — pruning side shoots. How to prune a plum tree — pruning out crossing branches. Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert answer. Not Helpful 25 Helpful Not Helpful 23 Helpful No taller than about 25 ft, but it depends on how tall your ladder is, as you will need to be able to reach the top to harvest the fruit.
Not Helpful 7 Helpful My tree bears a lot of fruit, but it all falls off the tree when it is tiny. What's wrong? Too much fruit is your problem.
Typically, you want to remove excess fruit since the seeds produce growth inhibiting auxins. Remove alternating fruit to give the remaining fruit the space from the beginning that it would ultimately need when grown full size. Not Helpful 18 Helpful My plum tree is developing some good sized cracks in its bark, which is also falling off. If there is a really cold winter will this hurt it? Unfortunately, I do not think that your tree is healthy.
I would worry about it surviving winter. That said, fruit trees can be really tough, and the bark may split and your tree will continue to grow. There is not much you can do unless you can identify what is going on and treat the tree. Prune it to the shape you want. A center trunk does not make much difference in the production of fruit; it just means the tree will not get much taller unless you encourage a branch to become the central leader.
Not Helpful 9 Helpful If you want to let the fruit ripen, cut just beyond the fruit. If not, chop it wherever you want. Not Helpful 10 Helpful My plum tree had some flowers in spring, but no fruit. It has never born fruit in 6 years. Can I prune it hard now, in July? Your plum tree needs a mate. Find out the variety of your tree and then get another variety that is suitable for cross-pollination.
Not Helpful 24 Helpful My 10 year-old plum tree never produces and it suppose to be a self-pollinated tree. What can I do? Plums typically need to be in the vicinity of another tree to bear decently. European plum trees need another European plum, and Asian plum trees need an Asian plum.
Very few plum trees are said to be self-pollinating. Not Helpful 31 Helpful If a landscaper planted a purple plum tree near my porch, should I cut it down to avoid foundation damage, or can I cut the branches to keep the tree short? I would recommend cutting it down. If left it may well undermine the foundations of the porch. The tap root of any deciduous tree will be longer than the radius of the tree and as the tree trunk expands in diameter so does the tap root.
Not Helpful 17 Helpful Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. The best time to prune plums is early spring or early summer during a dry day. Never prune in winter to avoid silver leaf disease. Helpful 6 Not Helpful 0. If you have a fan-trained plum, you will need to shape as you cut it.
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