Prune apples and pears in the dormant season, plums, cherries and other stone fruit in summer or at the start of growth, and raspberries and blackberries right after they fruit, always removing dead, diseased and crossing wood first. Refresh mulch each year, cut nitrogen-fixing and mulch plants several times in the season, and check tree guards as the trunks thicken. Use a ladder only on firm ground, never stand under a limb being cut, and wash tools between trees when disease is present.
A pruning and maintenance schedule assigns the yearly jobs of a food forest, such as shaping trees, thinning, mulching and cutting support plants, to the season in which each is best done.
The Season Of A Cut Matters As Much As The Cut
Pruning shapes the tree, lets light and air into the crown, removes damaged wood and controls the height so that fruit can be reached. The carrier guide (Food Forest & Permaculture Design) gives the primary maintenance of a mature system as pruning, thinning and harvest. It gives no pruning calendar; the one below is general orchard practice and should be adjusted to your climate and species.
Calendar
| Season | Job |
|---|---|
| Late winter (dormant) | Prune apples and pears; remove dead, diseased, crossing and badly placed branches; renew mulch; repair guards |
| Spring | Check for frost damage and bloom; prune shrubs that fruit on new wood |
| Early summer | Thin fruitlets; first cut of fixers and comfrey |
| Summer | Prune plums, cherries, apricots and peaches; cut again; summer-prune to control height |
| After fruiting | Cut out fruited canes of raspberries and blackberries |
| Autumn | Cut hops back; harvest; spread leaves as mulch |
Plums, cherries and other stone fruits are commonly pruned in summer or at the start of growth, because cuts made in the cold, wet dormant season are more open to fungal and bacterial infection. Walnuts, birch and maples bleed sap if cut as the sap rises in spring; prune them in summer or in early winter instead.
What You Need
- Sharp hand pruners, loppers and a pruning saw.
- A stable ladder or a picking pole.
- Disinfectant for tools — a diluted bleach solution or strong alcohol, if available.
- Tree guards and tie material.
Method
Step 1: Remove the three Ds first — dead, diseased and damaged wood — then crossing and rubbing branches.
Step 2: Open the crown. Aim for a shape that lets light reach the centre. Do not remove a large share of the crown in one year; spread heavy corrections over several years.
Step 3: Cut at the branch collar, the swelling where the branch joins, without leaving a long stub or cutting flush with the trunk.
Step 4: Keep fruit in reach by cutting back tall leaders to side branches.
Step 5: Clean tools between trees if a disease such as fire blight is present and cut well below visible infection.
Step 6: Check guards and ties each year; a tie or guard too tight on a thickening trunk girdles it.
Common Mistakes
- Pruning stone fruit in deep winter — higher infection risk.
- Topping a tree — cutting the main leader in the middle of a branch produces dense weak shoots.
- Leaving stubs — they rot and let decay in.
Safety
Saws, ladders and falling limbs
Never stand beneath a limb being cut and never cut a branch you are standing on. Set the ladder on firm, level ground and keep your weight centred. Do not work alone high in a tree, and do not use a saw with one hand while holding on with the other. A branch under tension can spring when cut; make a relief cut from below first.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Integrating with Annual Crops — the annual side of the maintenance calendar
- Combine with: Harvest Labor Calendar & Work Coordination — fitting pruning into the work year