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Plum trees are relatively easy to care for and benefit more from a thoughtful trim than a full crop when it comes to pruning. However, planning when to prune any plum tree in your garden is crucial, as the tree will respond best when it’s in a period of growth. The age of the tree will also make a difference to how and when you prune.
Pruning is just one factor; youll also need to know how to plant plum trees to fully enjoy the benefits of this fruitful tree in your garden. Add a plum tree to your list of the best fast-growing flowering trees and make it a part of the landscape of your backyard.
Pruning plum trees at the right time is crucial for the health and fruit production of the tree. Getting the timing wrong can leave the tree vulnerable to disease or result in fewer plums So when is the optimal time to prune plum trees?
Why Prune Plum Trees?
Before getting into when to prune, it helps to understand why pruning is important for plum trees in the first place. Here are some of the key benefits of pruning plum trees:
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Promotes Tree Health – Pruning removes dead damaged and diseased branches. It opens up the canopy to increase air circulation and sunlight penetration. This helps reduce pest and disease problems.
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Maximizes Fruit Production – Pruning helps stimulate new fruiting wood growth. It removes overcrowded branches to allow more sunlight to reach developing fruits.
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Maintains a Good Tree Shape – Pruning controls the height and spread of the tree. It removes unwanted inward growth and keeps major branches evenly spaced.
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Makes Harvesting Easier – Keeping the tree height under control through pruning makes harvesting the fruit more manageable.
The Best Time to Prune Plum Trees
Plum trees are best pruned during the summer months, typically June or July. Summer pruning has a number of advantages:
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Avoids Infection Risk – Pruning plum trees in winter leaves them vulnerable to silver leaf disease. Summer pruning avoids this risk.
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Encourages Fruit Production – Summer pruning reduces vegetative growth and diverts the tree’s energy into developing fruits.
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Limits Regrowth – Pruning in summer means fewer new shoots will emerge compared to winter pruning. This makes maintenance easier.
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Weather is More Favorable – Summer weather is typically drier, making for better pruning conditions than wet winter months.
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Easier to See What to Prune – With full foliage, it’s easier to spot problem branches that need removal.
Step-by-Step Summer Pruning Guide
Follow these steps for pruning plum trees during summer:
1. Sterilize Your Pruning Tools
Disinfect your pruning tools with rubbing alcohol before making cuts. This prevents transmitting diseases between branches.
2. Remove Suckers & Water Sprouts
Thin out suckers growing from the base of the tree and vigorous vertical watersprouts. These divert energy from fruit production.
3. Clear Out the Center
Prune branches pointing inwards and any overcrowded branches in the center of the canopy to allow light penetration.
4. Remove Crossing & Damaged Branches
Clear out branches that rub or cross over each other. Also prune away dead, diseased or damaged branches.
5. Cut Back Competing Branches
Shorten or remove branches that compete with the main scaffold branches for space and light.
6. Control Height
If needed, prune back the tallest branches to keep the tree height manageable for harvesting the fruit.
7. Shape the Canopy
Prune to create an open vase shape with evenly spaced scaffold branches all around the tree.
8. Make Proper Pruning Cuts
Prune just above outward facing buds. Angle cuts downwards to allow drainage. Avoid leaving stubs.
What to Avoid When Pruning Plum Trees
While summer pruning is best, there are certain times to avoid pruning plum trees:
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Spring – Pruning in spring often stimulates excessive new growth at the expense of fruit production. It is also still somewhat risky for silver leaf infection.
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Fall & Early Winter – Pruning from late summer onward leaves trees vulnerable to silver leaf disease. Waiting until late winter delays pruning past the ideal window.
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Wet Weather – Damp conditions encourage the spread of silver leaf disease. Hold off pruning after heavy rain or dew until things dry out.
Establishing Young Plum Trees
Pruning is also vital in the first few years after planting to establish a good tree structure:
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Year 1 – Remove broken and congested branches and prune lightly to encourage growth.
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Year 2 – Cut back main branches by half to an outward facing bud to develop a vase shape.
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Year 3+ – Resume summer pruning to restrict height, remove inward growth and thin congested areas.
The Takeaway
For the best results, prune plum trees during summer when the weather is warm and dry. This avoids the risk of infections while encouraging better fruit production. Just be sure to properly sterilize pruning tools first and make clean cuts to speed recovery. With good technique and timing, pruning will help keep your plum tree healthy and bountiful for years to come.
Why you should prune plum trees (Image credit: Westend61 / Getty Images)
While plum trees do not need excessive pruning, removing branches when needed is a vital part of the care and maintenance of a healthy tree.
‘It’s important to prune plum trees properly in order to encourage tree health and increase the yield of fruit,’ explains Mark Hewett, pruning expert at garden tools brand WOLF-Garten, which makes a specific tree care range. ‘If not carefully pruned, branches can break under the weight of the fruit, and can become more susceptible to disease and pest infestations.’
Silverleaf is a common prune tree problem and pruning at the correct time can help to reduce risk of this occurring.
When to prune plum trees: get your timing right
Once you’ve factored in when to plant plum trees, and how to plant plum trees for the best results, you can turn your attention to when to prune plum trees for their upkeep and health.
Renowned gardener Monty Don has a number of plum trees in his garden at Longmeadow, and confesses ‘other than planting, I hardly tend them in any way at all’.
However, pruning is one plum care chore that he doesn’t skimp on. ‘Pruning is the one area where you need to treat plums right,’ says the author of Monty Don Gardening at Longmeadow. ‘The first simple rule is, if in any doubt, do not prune at all. Leaving any kind of plum unpruned will not do much, if any, harm. Pruning one at the wrong time of year, on the other hand, can certainly cause problems and even kill it.’
Q&A – When is the best time to prune a plum tree?
FAQ
What is the best month to prune a plum tree?
Once plum trees have established (about 3 years old) they can be pruned in summer, from June onwards.Feb 2, 2018
When should you not prune fruit trees?
The only time that’s not ideal to prune is right before fall – late summer/early fall. Then the tree doesn’t have time to heal and you’re maximizing the time for the exposed cut to be exposed to disease, rot, wind drying, too wet, all winter long, etc. Other than that, prune all year long.
How to prune an overgrown plum tree?
Prune lower branches so that main stems and branches which turn downwards are cut to be at least parallel with ground, preferably growing upwards and outwards. If the tree is excessively tall, prune a third of the height to bring fruit production lower down.
What months are best for tree trimming?
The best time to prune is between mid-February and early May. Trees pruned at this time in early spring develop a callous around the cut much more rapidly than those pruned at other times. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule.
Is pruning a plum tree difficult?
Although plum tree pruning is not difficult, it’s important. Anyone can trim plums, but timing is important, as is consistency. Therefore, learning how and when to prune a plum tree is imperative. The purpose of pruning and training is to encourage tree health and increase fruit yield.
Should a plum tree be pruned in summer?
As with other stone fruits such as cherries and apricots, plums are much more susceptible to silver-leaf disease if pruned outside of summer. Simply remove old wood and crowded branches to create an open shape, when pruning a plum tree. Cherry trees and their relatives should be pruned in summer to avoid silver-leaf disease.
When should you prune a Japanese plum tree?
Instead, prune in early spring and then thin out excess branches again in summer. Plums are formed on two year old fruit so prune to create a balance of old and new wood. Protect your Japanese Plum tree from insects and disease by spraying a combination of Lime Sulphur and Dormant Oil in late winter. A coppery spray in summer is also beneficial.