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Pruning a plumber tree #439786

Asked February 06, 2018, 5:15 PM EST

.is this an ok time of year to prune my plum tree. It us a semi dwarf multi plum grafted tree

Clark County Washington

Expert Response

Dear Client,

First thank you for choosing a plum tree grafted on dwarfing rootstock for your backyard. So many homeowners fail to realize the benefits to growing smaller trees that fit in smaller yards and help minimize the amount of time spent on ladders to prune, train and harvest the fruit of their labor. Home fruit trees on dwarfing rootstock also makes pest management so much easier as well.

This is the recommended time to prune fruit trees. Despite this mild winter, these trees should still be in their dormant season. Just as important is that the insect and disease pests are "dormant" as well. This provides your tree the opportunity to heal over the pruning cuts before these pests start seeking a new fruit tree to call home. The only thing to worry about is not to prune your tree right before the weather forecast predicts below zero temperatures.

For a bit more information on how to prune fruit trees see:

http://pubs.wsu.edu/ItemDetail.aspx?ProductID=14832&SeriesCode=&CategoryID=&Keyword=home orchard

http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/EM066E/EM066E.pdf

Hope this helps!

An Ask Extension Expert Replied February 06, 2018, 8:17 PM EST

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