Tips for Pruning Plums in Winter (Plum Tree Pruning Methods and Techniques in Winter)

How to prune plum trees in winter

The plum tree is a very adaptable and vigorous tree species with a strong ability to sprout and branch. Every spring, it will sprout many new branches, then flowers first, leaves later, and fruits.

When all the fruits in summer are picked and the leaves fall in winter, people will prune the trees, which is called winter pruning.

However, winter pruning is not just a matter of random pruning, but each pruning must be carefully considered and considered. Therefore, there are many requirements for pruning methods.

1. Pruning to prevent diseases and insects

When pruning a plum tree, you should first cut off the dry and diseased branches from top to bottom.

Because they are often parasites of pests and diseases, with many bacteria and eggs attached to them, if they are not removed in time, they will continue to breed and spread, and invade other branches. Therefore, it is advisable to cut them off as soon as possible after the leaves have faded.

2. Lighting, ventilation and pruning

Lighting and ventilation pruning is what we often call thinning, also known as pruning to open the light path. It is the process of cutting off those dense branches, overlapping branches, inner branches and vigorous branches to make the tree trunk sparse and transparent.

This is not only beneficial in killing bacteria and insect eggs on the tree trunk through freezing in winter, but also beneficial in lighting and ventilation during the growing season of the following year, and also plays a role in preventing and reducing the occurrence of diseases and insect pests.

3. Balanced tree pruning

Balanced tree pruning is pruning that optimizes the tree structure. It is a process of adjusting the uncoordinated growth of the main branches, the imbalance between the main branches and the large auxiliary branches, and the uneven strength between the branch groups through pruning.

To put it simply, it means to suppress the strong and support the weak, so that there will be no phenomenon such as overshadowing the others, uneven strength, and lopsided crowns among the branches.

The specific pruning method can be achieved through pruning methods such as short cutting, shortening, and slow release.

For example, for strong branches that lean towards one side of the tree, their growth can be inhibited by shortening or pruning a part of them.

As for the branches on the weaker side of the tree, they should be kept as much as possible and allowed to grow towards a strong and vigorous state, so as to achieve the correction purpose of suppressing the strong and supporting the weak, and make the tree develop in a balanced way.

As for the strong and vigorous branches or the long branches that dominate the tree, they should be pruned back as much as possible to ensure that the main and secondary branches are in order and the layers are clear.

4. Dwarfing pruning

Dwarfing pruning refers to the process of shortening the tree trunk by methods such as shortening, reducing, and pulling branches to facilitate management and picking.

Plum trees are highly adaptable and grow vigorously. Therefore, during the pruning process, it is advisable to shorten or reduce the upright and vigorous branches appropriately.

At the same time, branches that form a small angle with the main trunk, that is, less than 45 degrees, are pulled to form an angle of about 45 degrees between the trunk and the main branch. In this way, the overall shape of the tree can be dwarfed, making it easier to pick.

5. Plastic surgery

Shaping pruning is to prune the tree trunk to a certain shape by shortening, reducing, relaxing, pulling branches, etc. It can not only beautify the tree crown, but also keep the orchard neat and tidy.

When pruning, the general principle is to prune according to the tree's growth. If it is a young plum tree, you can also slowly adjust the pruning according to the ideal tree shape.