When is the best time to prune peach blossoms? Can peach blossoms be pruned again?

1. Pruning time

Peach blossom pruning is divided into growing season pruning and dormant period pruning. Pruning during the growing season is mostly done in summer, from budding to stem closure, usually from May to August. Pruning during the dormant period should be done after the leaves fall in autumn and until before budding in the spring of the following year. It is usually done in late autumn or early winter. At this time, damage to the plant is minimal and wounds are easier to heal.

2. Pruning method

1. Pinching: Peach blossoms should be pinched in the first year after transplanting. Cut off the top buds of the plant. This can prevent it from growing too tall and promote the development of side branches. Of course, the top buds of the branches can also be pinched, which can make the branches fuller and the flower buds fuller.

2. Twisting the shoots: The purpose of twisting the shoots is to transform the original long branches into fruiting branches. It is usually done when the new shoots grow to 30 cm. The position of the twisting shoots is 15 cm away from the base. Just twist it with your hands to ensure that the xylem and phloem are twisted, but not broken.

3. Pulling branches: For some places where the growth is too dense, you can improve the lighting conditions and enhance ventilation by pulling branches. Branch pulling is mostly done in spring and summer, and the pulling angle should be around 80°. If the degree of pulling is not enough, its growth condition cannot be improved.

4. Ring barking: peel off the bark of the peach branches in a circle. This method can cut off the sieve tubes and hinder the transport of nutrients, thereby improving the quality of flower buds and the ability to bear fruit. In addition to ring barking, you can also cut off nutrient transport through scoring to promote germination and branching.