Knowledgebase
Plum tree pruning #880538
Asked August 07, 2024, 12:50 PM EDT
Hennepin County Minnesota
Expert Response
https://extension.umn.edu/fruit/growing-stone-fruits-home-garden#general-pruning-guidelines-1137110
On Wednesday, August 7, 2024, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
Dear Michael, here's the response to your question:
It's best to prune plums each year in late winter before the buds break. You can do minor pruning now, but major pruning will redirect the tree's energy from fruit production to foliage growth, and may well reduce the yield for next season. For information on growing plum trees, including how to prune, see
https://extension.umn.edu/fruit/growing-stone-fruits- home-garden#general-pruning- guidelines-1137110 Need to reply to the expert? Click the link below, or simply reply to this email.
Click here to view #0150456
We hope this response has sufficiently answered your questions. If not, please do not send another email. Instead, reply to this email or login to your account for a complete archive of all your support requests and responses.
On Wednesday, August 7, 2024, vincentvognar <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
Is the risk mainly to fruiting next year? I’m worried if I don’t do some of this now it will be more problematic next year late winter and I’ll have to prune harder basically.
On Wednesday, August 7, 2024, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
Dear Michael, here's the response to your question:
It's best to prune plums each year in late winter before the buds break. You can do minor pruning now, but major pruning will redirect the tree's energy from fruit production to foliage growth, and may well reduce the yield for next season. For information on growing plum trees, including how to prune, see
https://extension.umn.edu/fruit/growing-stone-fruits-home- garden#general-pruning-guideli nes-1137110 Need to reply to the expert? Click the link below, or simply reply to this email.
Click here to view #0150456
We hope this response has sufficiently answered your questions. If not, please do not send another email. Instead, reply to this email or login to your account for a complete archive of all your support requests and responses.
They should definitely NOT prune right now in the middle of summer.1) There are a lot of active disease spores in the air. Trunk diseases get introduced to pruning wounds. Once diseases are in there, they cannot be treated. You don't want to cause that problem.2) Pruning while the trees are actively growing will cause them to rapidly form new branches. That is bad at this point in the season. The trees are trying to STOP growing now, and prepare for fall and winter. If someone prunes them, which stimulates new growth to form, then the plants will be stressed and less healthy going into winter.
I know that different advice is out there about gardening issues, but I would fully support the expertise of U of Mn professors and horticulturists, and they're saying to NOT prune now.
Hope this helps.
On Monday, August 12, 2024, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
Dear Michael, here's the response to your question:
The main risk is to fruit production next year, but pruning now also increases the chance of infection and the spread of diseases including fireblight. Here is a response I received from an expert at the U of Mn when I posed your question to her:
They should definitely NOT prune right now in the middle of summer.1) There are a lot of active disease spores in the air. Trunk diseases get introduced to pruning wounds. Once diseases are in there, they cannot be treated. You don't want to cause that problem.2) Pruning while the trees are actively growing will cause them to rapidly form new branches. That is bad at this point in the season. The trees are trying to STOP growing now, and prepare for fall and winter. If someone prunes them, which stimulates new growth to form, then the plants will be stressed and less healthy going into winter.
I know that different advice is out there about gardening issues, but I would fully support the expertise of U of Mn professors and horticulturists, and they're saying to NOT prune now.
Hope this helps.Need to reply to the expert? Click the link below, or simply reply to this email.
Click here to view #0150456
We hope this response has sufficiently answered your questions. If not, please do not send another email. Instead, reply to this email or login to your account for a complete archive of all your support requests and responses.
