When to Prune Fruit Trees – Winter or Spring?

You can prune fruit trees any time of the year, be it winter, spring or summer. However, it is important to note that pruning at specific times of the year has a significant impact on the health and productivity of the tree. You should also lookout for the right species that best suits your topography hence the need to be mindful of where you buy pear trees online. Taking a cue from your response to their questions, online fruit vendors will advise you on the right species to opt for.

Apparently, your pear fruit is growing healthily, now it’s time to prune. Perhaps, you might be wondering when is the right time to prune your fruit trees? The perfect answer depends on your primary aim and objectives. Are you looking to reduce the tree size? Or you want to boost the speed at which the tree grows? Pruning your tree correctly, at the right time of year, is all you need to achieve your goals.

For instance, if you want to stall the growth of a tall tree to make harvesting easy, early spring is the best time of the year to prune the tree to your desired size. Want to encourage a young tree to grow faster, late winter is the ideal pruning time.

Best Time to Prune

Generally, pruning in the winter makes your pear tree grow faster while pruning in the summer does the direct opposite? But why is it so? This has to do with the seasonal cycle of energy that your tree possesses. If done correctly and at the right time, tree pruning is an ideal way to manage the tree’s energy cycle.

Winter

In the fall, fruit trees store a large part of their energy in the root system in preparation for the harsh winter weather. During the chilly months, the fruit tree is mostly dormant and only consumes a small amount of the stored nutrient to stay alive. The preserved energy will be used up for the spring showdown – a time when every plant blossoms.

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Pruning a dormant tree in the winter gives you the opportunity to shape the tree just the way you like it. Be sure to leave the pruning activity until late winter. This helps trees heal faster since spring isn’t far away.

Spring

Spring is synonymous with long days and pleasant weather. It’s a time when your trees start to wake up from their slumbers. Not all branches will survive the winter so spring pruning presents a great opportunity to identify and remove dead branches. However, pruning at this time will stall the growth of your trees as it would if you had pruned in the late winter. The reason behind this is that the tree has already used up a large part of the conserved energy to fuel leaf. But if you are looking to reduce the size of your massive tree, spring pruning promises to be a good time.

Pruning is an essential part of tree care and maintenance. To get the result you seek, make sure you prune correctly.