Planning Your Most Important Spring Orchard Task

Did you know that dormant (i.e. late winter/early spring) pruning for your fruit tree is one of the most important ways to care for your tree for its first 3-5 years of life? 

It’s also one of the most common mistakes new fruit tree growers make!  Many of our customers question why we tell them to prune away approximately 1/3 of their young 1 or 2 year old tree as part of the planting process after their purchase, so we thought we’d begin our pruning blog series with an outline of why  you should care so much about pruning, and what you should begin planning for.

So, why is spring pruning so important for the first few years? 

1. Balance out the root to shoot ratio: even though transplanting your tree in early spring while it is dormant reduces the shock of it, your tree’s roots still have to adjust to new soil and a new home. You can really help those roots out with their task of getting strong and established in their new home by taking some of their load off – and that means pruning!
2. Dormant pruning encourages vegetative, vigorous growth, which is exactly what we want our new little tree to do for the first years of its life:

a) In order to support a heavy crop of fruit, the tree must grow a balanced, strong canopy to support it. Laying the groundwork now will set you up for years – decades – to come!

b) A healthy open canopy also reduces disease pressure and improves fruit quality as each piece of fruit can have direct access to the suns’ rays and ripen to perfection.

Eventually, you may add in summer pruning, which helps slow down an older tree’s growth, and which we’ll discuss in more depth in another post. We use a combination of dormant pruning and summer pruning to direct each tree in the orchard according to its unique levels of vigour and precocity towards a healthy and productive future. But for now, let’s discuss your plan for spring pruning – keeping in mind the golden rule: dormant pruning = vegetative (branchy) growth!

Before you touch a blade, I recommend going out in your orchard and assessing what you think you might need – this is based largely on the shape and age of the tree, as outlined below.

For restoring a mature old tree, we have a post coming for that in March, so no details on that here.

On middle-aged trees, you might hardly prune at all, or just focus on minor shaping and tidying up the canopy. This can look like removing dead or crossing branches, maintaining an open canopy, or refining your shape.

However, on young trees (aged approx. 1-5 years) we especially want to prune about 1/3 of the tree away when it’s dormant. You will use a combination of thinning and heading cuts to develop your desired structure for future crops - all of which will be covered in the next blog post!

Dormant Pruning Timing

Keep in mind the window for dormant pruning is typically quite wide: in Southern Ontario we can often prune from February to early April. However, if there are severe dips in the coming forecast or temps around -17C or colder, we recommend waiting to prune for warmer weather, so as not to harm the tree.

On the flip side, we also want to have pruning done before bud swell to avoid stressing the tree. Look to the Red and Silver Maples in your area – if they are breaking buds, know that your dormant pruning window is closing!

In our next pruning blog post we’ll cover more details on the “how to’s” of spring pruning (a review of timing and introduction to the types of pruning cuts, shaping trees, etc.)

In conclusion, here’s a quick list outlining why we prune fruit trees:

Years 1-5 (*approximately):

·       help root establishment

·       encourage vigorous new growth

·       establish strong, balanced canopy/structure

Years 4+ (*approximately):

·       late winter/early spring (dormant) pruning improves tree structure (capability to hold the weight of a bountiful fruit crop)

·       improve quality of your fruit harvest

·       help prevent diseases with increased air circulation and sunlight

·       control your overall tree size

·       temper summer and dormant pruning to guide your tree into productivity for decades to come

*Note that the exact number of years that you prioritize spring vs. summer pruning may vary based on the variety of fruit tree, its rootstock and its own natural growth habits. Generally, all fruit trees will benefit from spring pruning even as mature trees, but the method and “how” of it will shift to accommodate a mature, fruit-producing tree and the grower’s needs.

For now, take some time to look at your calendar, and based on how many trees you’ll want to prune and how big they are, plan a few of your spring weekends accordingly! Your trees will thank you with a lifetime of nutritious food!

This 5 part blog series begins focused on young trees and is intended to help new and intermediate growers who are beginning their orchard journey. Posts will follow the following approximate topic list and timing below.

Post 1: Planning Your Most Important Spring Orchard Task (that’s this post)

Post 2: Spring Pruning: Fruit Trees (early-February 2025; so you have time to read and plan!)

Post 3: Pruning Berry Bushes & Vines (early March 2025)

Post 4: Pruning An Old Apple Tree (mid/late March 2025)

Post 5: Summer Pruning (June or July 2025)