How to Prune Flowering Cherry Trees
If you are looking into taking care of a cherry tree in your yard, take the time to learn all there is to know about pruning cherry trees. The truth is, in order for you tree to bear the best fruit it possibly can, you have to prune it.
But one misstep and it’s all over.
This isn’t meant to intimidate you or scare you away from growing cherry trees. It’s merely a warning that pruning cherry trees isn’t a passive or optional activity.
You have to take it seriously.
Below, we’ll go through basic step by step instructions on pruning cherry trees. Take a look at this before you take your shears to your tree; you may save its life. And then we’ll take a look at several different kinds of cherry tree and their variations.
Pruning Cherry Trees: Step by Step
Before you starting trimming away at your cherry tree, be sure to read the following set of instructions to make sure you’re going to be doing it right.
Before we get to the list, however, it’s important to understand a few things about your cherry tree.
Cherry trees are central leader trees. This means that they have one main trunk (called thee leader) and that its branches all come out of it.
A cherry tree that is pruned properly will have what is called a scaffold shape (branches should stick out all around the tree and there should be a two foot clearance between vertical levels).
Okay, let’s get down to business here. Here’s your guide to pruning cherry trees:
- While many fruit trees are pruned and shaped in late winter to promote growth through the spring months, cherry trees ought to be pruned in the summertime. Cherry trees are especially susceptible to Silver Leaf, a disease that hits hard in winter. By pruning in the summer you can avoid contracting this disease in your own cherry tree.
- Cut off or pick out any branches that are diseased or dead.
- Get rid of any seedlings that have sprouted at the foot of your cherry tree. If you dig them up, be sure not to hard the main cherry tree’s roots.
- You should make cuts1/8 of an inch above the bud of the branch and at an angle.
- Keep the scaffold shape as you make your cuts.
- Make sure to immediately seal each of your cuts with a pruning paste that has a non-asphalt base. This will keep diseases and destructive organisms from invading the cherry tree.
Pruning Cherry Trees: Species Variations
Not all cherry trees are the same.
Pruning Bing cherry trees is much different than pruning black cherry trees, just as pruning flowering cherry trees is much different than pruning Japanese cherry trees.
Make sure you know the specific changes you need to make in your pruning routine based on which kind of tree you have.
It is important that you take pruning cherry trees seriously.
One mistake can cost you an entire season’s worth of fruit, and maybe even a lifetime’s worth.
By knowing what kind of cherry tree you have, you’ll have a much better understanding of what you’ll need to do each summer to ensure you have fruit for the next year.
The Internet is a wonderful resource for finding out the specific variations in pruning cherry trees from a variety of species. Take the time to read up. You won’t regret it.
Return from Pruning Cherry Trees to Best Fruit Gardens
Return from Pruning Flowering Cherry Trees to Best Garden Designs
Many gardeners don’t go about pruning cherry trees properly. Learn why pruning flowering cherry trees is a must, including bing, black & Japanese cherry trees
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