Never Prune These Fruit Trees in Winter, or You’ll Put Their Future at Risk – 7 Species to Keep the Pruners Away From This January

A bright January day can offer an ideal chance for a spot of pruning. Provided there is no frost or snow around, there are fruit trees that can benefit from trimming this month, but not all. Certain fruit trees are plants to never prune in January, and here we reveal which are on that no-go list.

Understanding when to prune fruit trees and when to refrain from using pruning tools is key to maintaining quality fruit trees. Get it right, and you have healthy, well-shaped trees that produce bumper harvests. However, get it wrong, and you risk fruit trees being vulnerable to pests and diseases.

We want to help you avoid making that fruit tree pruning mistake. I have looked after a wide variety of fruit trees as a professional horticulturist, and here I reveal seven fruit trees you should never prune in winter. If you do want to prune this January, you’ll be able to target the right trees confidently.

Fruit Trees Never to Prune in January – 7 to Avoid

One easy way to remember is that fruit trees with pips are routinely pruned in winter. That means the likes of apples, pears, and quinces are fruit trees to prune in winter, though, admittedly, there are ‘pipless’ fruit trees that you can prune during the season, including mulberries, medlars, and jujube trees. Ahead of any trimming, keep your pruning tools sharp with a pocket-sized tool sharpener like this on Amazon.

However, you never want to prune stone fruits in winter, as these are ideally left until late spring, for reasons I’ll outline later. But there are others, as well as stone fruits, to avoid.

On that note, the below are fruit trees never to prune in January. I will reveal when to trim each, and a few tips for how to prune the fruit trees.

1. Apricots

Apricot trees are sun-loving fruit trees, and many gardeners enjoy the delectable, aromatic fruits fresh from the tree. They can grow as standalone specimens, as trained fan or espalier trees, and are ideal fruit trees to grow in pots.

Wherever you grow apricot trees, they want routine pruning as they are fast-growing fruit trees. When it comes to when to prune an apricot tree, never do this in winter, as it leaves them susceptible to silver leaf and canker. Silver leaf is a fungal disease that infects trees through pruning wounds, and the bacteria which cause it are more prevalent in winter.

Best practice is to trim young trees in spring and established apricot trees in summer after fruiting. This timing not only prevents disease but also helps an apricot tree to fruit prolifically. As apricots produce flowers and fruit on one-year-old wood, this timing gives the tree lots of time to develop wood to carry next year’s crop.

2. Cherries

When you grow a cherry tree, it will either be a sweet cherry or a sour cherry, and the group they belong to does make a difference in how to prune a cherry tree.

However, what doesn’t change is the best time to trim. This is mid-to-late summer, July or August, after the tree has produced its harvest of fruits. Just like with apricots, this helps to prevent silver leaf and canker.

Bacterial canker is a disease that can strike all stone fruit trees, but is particularly troublesome for plums and cherries. The tree is most resistant to the bacteria which cause it when pruned in the summer, and most vulnerable if trimmed in winter.

Where the pruning differs is that sweet cherries fruit on older wood and sour cherries fruit on last season’s growth. Sweet cherries need light pruning and a shortening of tips to encourage fruiting spurs and buds, while sour cherries need up to a quarter of older wood cutting back and young shoots trimmed to promote branching.

3. Peaches

Peach and nectarine trees adore sun and warmth, needing both in abundance to produce lots of fruit. But if you harbour any ambitions to have a thriving peach tree that fruits strongly and remains healthy, knowing when to prune a peach tree ensures this dream remains a reality.

Whether you are lucky enough to grow and care for peach trees outdoors in warmer climates or grow them in a greenhouse in milder zones, you want to prune them in spring or summer, but never winter.

A good time is just before they start growing in spring, or when the buds are first opening. If they are trimmed earlier in winter, then peaches (plus nectarines, which are related to peaches and subject to the same pruning guidance) are at risk of silver leaf. You can also trim them after fruiting in summer to control the size and prevent the tree from getting too top-heavy. This is especially vital if you grow the tree as a fan or espalier tree.

As for how to prune a peach tree, they fruit on the previous season’s wood, so remove dead, damaged, and diseased branches and cut back last season’s growth by around a half to encourage buds to carry a large harvest of peaches.

4. Plums

There are many types of plum trees, and they are grouped into dessert, culinary, or dual-purpose fruits. Despite all the variations available if you want to grow a plum tree, they are all fruit trees never to prune in January, primarily due to the serious risk to their health from silver leaf and bacterial canker.

When to prune plum trees depends on their age. Young plum trees, those up to three years old, are best trimmed in spring as the buds are starting to break. While established plum trees are best pruned in midsummer.

In terms of how to prune plum trees, the good news is that they don’t need lots of attention when established. Remove dead, diseased, and damaged branches, together with any crossing or growing inwards towards the trunk. Cutting back new shoots to 6-8 inches will also encourage fruiting spurs and many buds, helping a plum tree to fruit.

5. Damsons

Damsons are a type of plum that produces harder and smaller fruits than other varieties, which are perfect for cooking, making jams and jellies, and even liqueurs. Pruning is an important task to keep any specimen healthy and get a damson tree to fruit abundantly.

This trimming when you grow a damson tree is best done in late spring or early summer for established trees, to prevent silverleaf and canker. Young trees, though, those less than three years, can be lightly shaped in the spring.

6. Jackfruit

It is not just stone fruit that are plants to never prune in January; there are other fruit trees to avoid trimming. This includes the jackfruit tree, the largest tree fruit in the world, capable of growing up to 80 pounds.

As jackfruits are immensely popular nowadays as a meat substitute, it means many more gardeners may be interested in trying to grow these tropical fruits at home. And you can get a live jackfruit tree at Fast Growing Trees. Jackfruits need warm climates to grow outdoors year-round, but can be grown in containers as patio trees and moved indoors for winter.

Regular pruning keeps a jackfruit contained and growing at a reasonable height. As they produce fruit at the base, this pruning makes sense and ensures they are productive and manageable. The best time to prune is after fruiting, often in summer or early fall, especially if you are growing the tree in subtropical or milder climates.

7. Mango

Mango trees come in a variety of sizes, producing fruits with different flavors. You may not need to prune a mango tree every year, but they do require some attention every few years to prevent them from getting out of control.

Whenever you intend to trim, always wear gloves and long-sleeved clothing (such as these floral gardening sleeves at Amazon) to protect your skin from chemicals within the tree that are known to cause contact dermatitis.

If you grow mango trees in warmer US hardiness zones, it is best to trim them after harvesting and get the task completed before the onset of winter. Gardeners in cooler climates (and mangoes are hardy enough to grow outside down to US hardiness zone 9) are best to prune in early spring.

Young mango trees need pruning to develop a strong framework of branches and an open structure. When established, remove dead, damaged, and diseased branches, and any crowded stems in the center of the tree. Thinning out a couple of branches per year can keep it under control and fruiting.

We’ve discussed plants to never prune in January here, but what about those that definitely will benefit from a trim this month? Well, this guide to plants to prune in January features shrubs and vines that you can prune this month and will reward you with a stunning display later in the season.

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