Plums are pruned in early spring or mid-summer to avoid infection by silver leaf disease.
What is the best time to prune plum trees?
Pruning plum trees in spring or summer enables the tree’s pruning wounds to heal before the spores of silver leaf disease become active during the damp months of autumn and winter. Young plum trees (up to three years old) are best lightly pruned in spring.
Can you cut the top off a plum tree?
A mature tree that hasn’t been pruned needs help to become a good fruit producer, but whacking off the top is not the optimal solution. If pruning old plum trees this way doesn’t kill them, it will assuredly produce unattractive and unproductive new growth.
What is the best way to prune a plum tree?
Prune every year in early spring (April), before bud break. Remove any suckers growing from the rootstock. Rub out any buds growing on the lower trunk. Cut out any dead, damaged or diseased wood, and dispose of it as appropriate, removing it from the garden.
What happens if you over prune a plum tree?
An over-pruned plum tree may not produce any fruit at all. When you prune a plum tree, you remove leaves. These leaves provide the tree with energy from the sun through the process of photosynthesis. If you remove too many leaves, photosynthesis is interrupted and the plant can’t make enough energy to produce fruit.
How far back can you prune a plum tree?
Prune back the trunk 12 – 20 inches at a bud each year so fruit and vegetative buds concentrate in the bottom tree branches. Every year, cut out dead, diseased, or damaged branches. Also remove unproductive shoots and any crossing branches.
How do you reduce the height of a 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.
Why is my plum tree not fruiting?
Reasons Plum Tree not Fruiting
Freezing temperatures before blooms open will also kill the flowers. Without flowers, you will have no fruit. Insects that chew the terminal ends, shoots, and flowers will also cause no fruit on plum trees. Excess nitrogen fertilizer promotes leafy growth and can diminish fruiting.
Why are my plum tree leaves full of holes?
Answer: Plums, apricots and peaches all get a bacterial disease called “bacterial leaf spot.” It is also commonly called “shot hole disease,” because it looks like someone stood back and shot the leaves with a shotgun. The disease spends the winter in the stems.
Should you thin the fruit on a plum tree?
Plums: Are particularly prone to overcropping, so thinning is vital. Heavily laden branches may need additional support with stakes and/or ties even after thinning to prevent them breaking. Use thumb and forefinger to remove fruit to leave one fruit every 5-8cm (2-3in), or a pair of fruits every 15cm (6in).
Should you thin a plum tree?
The most important reason to thin fruit is to increase fruit size. Most deciduous fruit trees benefit from fruit thinning. Apples, pears, Asian pears, apricots, plums, peaches, kiwi and persimmons all respond positively to fruit thinning.
What shape should a plum tree be?
Prune the top stems and branches by about a third to keep the plum tree from growing too high. Other stems and branches should be trimmed to maintain an overall goblet shape. Once again, prune away shoots growing into the centre of the tree to keep it relatively open.
How long does it take for a plum to turn into a prune?
The Time is Ripe
By mid-August, the orchards are ready for harvest — a job that usually takes about 30 days. California Prunes are tree-ripened, so farmers determine harvest time by checking fruit firmness and sugar content with a tool called a light refractometer.
What is the lifespan of a plum tree?
Plum | 10-25 years*
Can a plum tree regrow from a stump?
A: Yes, but it depends on the fruit tree where the new growth occurs and the kind of growth that results from damage. In my opinion, it’s worth the effort since you will know whether or not this is successful in a couple months after you cut off the trunk. Most fruit trees are grafted.
Can you cut back a purple plum tree?
Prune your purple leaf plum annually to encourage the growth of new flowering wood. The best time to prune is after your purple leaf plum has finished blooming for the season, in late spring to early summer.
How tall should plum trees be?
Most plum trees will reach 16 feet (5 m.) at maturity or 14 feet (4 m.) if they are a dwarf variety. If you live in a more northerly climate, you may consider planting your plum tree in a location where it will have protection from cold winds, as they are prone to late frost damage.
Can you overwater a plum tree?
It’s important to note that even if you’re in the midst of a brown-lawn drought, you don’t want to water too much. Once every 10 days or two weeks is plenty. Worse than dry, thirsty roots is waterlogged, drowning roots.
Do plum trees need a lot of water?
Young plum trees need to be watered at least once a week to promote healthy root growth. Once the tree is established, it requires regular watering, especially in the dry summer months. Deeply water your plum tree once every two to four weeks.
What is the best fertilizer for plum trees?
Best Plum Tree Fertilizer Reviews
- Jobe’s Fruit & Citrus Fertilizer Spike 4-6-6. Best For Potted Trees.
- Down to Earth Organic Citrus Fertilizer Mix 6-3-3. Best Organic Dressing.
- Jobe’s Organics Fruit & Nut Granular Fertilizer 3-5-5.
- Miracle-Gro Citrus, Plum, & Mango Food 6-4-6.
- Miracle-Gro Fruit Food Spikes 15-5-10.
What month do plum trees produce fruit?
Plum trees are usually in fruit between June and September after blooming between late winter and early spring. In comparison with dwarf varieties, descendants can produce fruit a year earlier (2 to 5 years after planting the plants).