We have seven fruit trees in our backyard that we planted a few years ago. Since we got them when they were fairly small they didn’t really start producing until last year. But the thing about fruit trees is they need annual pruning. There are a couple reasons for pruning. One is to reduce the density of branches so that each branch can get the appropriate amount of light as well as provide enough water and nutrients to the fruit when they develop. The second aspect is a usability issue—to make sure the tree easy to pick from! Even though some of ours are dwarf trees, if we just let them grow unfettered, the fruit would be 20 feet off the ground!

So each year at about this time I go out with my pruning shears and “sculpt” the trees to satisfy both criteria. It’s actually kind of a mental exercise where I’d study the current structure of the tree and figure out what branches to eliminate so that what’s left is an open and productive tree. When I’m not sure about a specific branch, I err on the side of cutting it. As they say in the Fruit Tree Pruning video we purchased, “When in doubt, thin out!” So now all of the trees are ready for spring to arrive and from the forecast, it could be next week. Some of the trees already had buds! Hopefully, when they bloom we won’t have a hard freeze.