Every branch has buds pointed in various directions.

Always prune back to buds aimed in the direction you want limbs to grow.

Slant the cuts and the new growth will develop beautifully. Stay far enough above the bud so it won’t die back.

Make sharp, clean cuts close enough so that you won’t leave a clumsy stub that’s hard to heal over.

For your branches: choose wide 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock angles.

Narrow, V-shape crotches are an open invitation to disastrous splitting later on, particularly when your tree is ripening with a large bumper crop.

Pruning Tips from the pros: 10 o’clock pruning angle. If you keep up with your pruning and shaping each year, you’ll make mostly small, easy-to-heal cuts. Trees you receive from Stark Bro’s have been pruned in the nursery row for proper shaping, but correct pruning must continue at home. The natural shape of a fruit tree is not always the best for maximum fruit production.

Even more important, your fruit tree needs to be shaped.

After a single growing season, a tree you prune will be bigger than a matching unpruned tree.

In addition, cutting the tree back stimulates stronger, more vigorous growth from the remaining buds.

A good reference book, such as Pruning Made Easy, can be invaluable for answering questions and guiding you through the pruning process. In Zone 6 and farther north, you should wait until late winter. Plan to prune your fruit trees during every dormant season.

The only pruning done at this time would be any broken branches or roots. Because of this, you DO NOT need to prune them again when you plant. When your Stark Bro’s bare root tree arrives, our professionals have already pre-pruned your tree for you. Pruning helps balance the top growth of your tree with the root system, giving the roots time to re-establish in your yard before spring growth.

When your tree is dug up from our fields to be shipped to you, the root ball loses many of its tiny feeder roots, which are needed to absorb moisture and nutrients.

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