Fruit Tree Pruning Services in Vancouver, WA
Frontier Tree provides expert fruit tree pruning services. It is important to correctly prune your fruit trees to maintain tree health, maximize fruiting, and keep fruit within reach for easy picking. With proper pruning, your crop yield will be greatly increased.
Common errors when pruning fruit trees include over-pruning, pruning off spurs that bear the fruit, or incorrect timing. These errors can result in water sprouts (vertical twigs growing all over your tree). This is a problem, particularly for plants in the rose family – which includes many of our tree fruits like apple, pear, plum, cherry, and peach. Trees always react to pruning. We can control this reaction by carefully adjusting the timing of pruning and only removing the necessary twigs and branches.
When to Prune Fruit Trees:
It is important to know what time of year you should prune fruit trees. This can be coordinated with your intended goal for pruning:
Pruning in Late Winter – If you want to encourage growth and fruit production on a smaller tree, then prune in late winter. This will not remove too much energy from the tree. This is important since energy is stored in the roots at this time of year. It is also a great time of year to see the structure of the tree. In spring, your tree will be newly invigorated. Now it will have the energy to put into growing new shoots, foliage, and flowers, followed by fruit production later in the year.
Pruning in Early Spring – Spring is a great time to prune if you want to control the height of a large, vigorous fruit tree. Prune to reduce the height. This allows for easier access to fruit. Pruning off new shoots and flowers will remove energy from the tree. This lessens the activity the tree puts into growing. It is also a good time to see any dead branches that need to be removed.
Pruning in Summer – Summer is also a good time to reduce the height of a large fruit tree. This works well for cherry trees. Removing foliage will take energy away from the tree, slowing its growth.
Pruning in Fall – Fall is generally not a good time to prune. The tree’s growth has slowed by this time of year. Now it will be harder for the pruning cuts to heal.
The Benefits of Our Fruit Tree Pruning Services:
- Opens up a dense canopy, allowing light and air to enter the interior, improving health and allowing light to reach lower branches.
- Invigorates the tree, promoting more leaf and fruit growth.
- Removes dead or diseased branches, preventing any problems from spreading throughout the tree.
- Removes any crossing or competing branches that may be growing the wrong direction.
Frontier Tree Services will also make recommendations for fertilizing fruit trees to encourage the best fruit yield possible.
For a free quote on Fruit Tree Pruning or any of our other comprehensive tree care services, use our contact form or call us at (360) 574-4125.
*Frontier Tree Service, formerly known as Sunshine Tree Service, has been serving Vancouver, Portland, and Clark County since 1980. In 2010 Sunshine Tree Service became a part of the Frontier Landscaping Team. Frontier Landscaping proudly offers full-service landscaping and maintenance for residential and commercial clients. We are fully licensed, bonded, and insured.