For our second video in our Good Life For All series I show you how to prune a young fruit or nut tree. This method can be used for most fruit trees to shape them for maximum yield.

Pruning can be confusing

For anyone who’s researched pruning, you’ll notice there’s an overwhelming amount of ways to prune a fruit/nut tree. So it can become confusing to know which one is the the “right” way. Over the years I’ve tried a range of methods and you know what – most of them have worked. My point being, don’t freak out if someone tells you you’ve done it wrong, trees want to grow and, even if you do make a mistake, they’ll heal/come back and continue to mature into fruiting beauties.

This video is a prime example of just that…. Technically I should have held off to prune these almond trees until summer (as that’s when folks recommend you prune all stone fruit to avoid the risk of a disease called Cytospora canker), however I needed to treat them for rust which involved spraying a lime sulphar and copper spray on them before spring (same treatment you use for curly leaf on stone fruit). I also really needed to shape them before they put too much energy into growing into a shape I didn’t want. Pruning them in late winter made these things possible. ALSO I’ve pruned lots of stone fruit in winter over the years out of necessity and they’re all still healthy. But I do try and stick to the rules as much as possible – life just often doesn’t work out like that!

I hope you enjoy this weeks video :-).

Resources

• A very wonderful and thorough blog was written about pruning by our friends at Milkwood over here.
• Our educational tea towels includes one showing you how prune a fruit tree.
• Another great blog from Leaf, Root & Fruit.

For more general information on living a good life…

• Read my book, ‘The Good Life: How To Grow A Better World’. Australian and New Zealand folks can source it here while overseas mob can find it here.