It's time to plant ...

It's time to plant ...

Now is the time to summer prune fruit – especially stone fruits like cherries and plums, as they can be prone to a fungal disease called silverleaf if pruned in winter, but also apples and pears.

Prune fruit

Summer pruning is a much lighter affair than the kind of pruning you do in winter, and is mostly about shaping your trees and encouraging fruit production next year. It’s worth giving all your fruit trees a summer once-over to make sure that they’re growing healthily and in the direction you want them to go.

The right kit is essential for this job, as poor pruning leads to disease and other problems further down the line. So make sure you’re armed with a pair of sharp secateurs, some loppers and a pruning saw: drop into the garden centre at Stocksfield and we can advise you on the best quality models from our selection of top-of-the-range tools.

Your first job is to check the tree for any dead, damaged or diseased branches and take these out as cleanly as possible at the base. Next, remove water shoots – these are long, whippy, upright growths, often from a previous pruning cut – as well as any suckers appearing at the base of the tree.

Then find the leading shoots of each main branch, identifiable by their soft, sappy wood, and shorten them by a third to a half to encourage the production of fruiting sideshoots. Finish off by cutting back existing side shoots to leave three leaves of this year’s growth, always cutting to just above a bud, again to persuade the tree to concentrate on producing fruiting spurs rather than more vegetative growth. Your extra pruning session should ensure you have a healthier tree that doesn’t outgrow its boundaries and provides you with a bumper crop of delicious, juicy fruit next season.

You might also be interested in:

How to grow tomatoes

Enjoy the delicious taste of your own home-grown tomatoes this summer, sun-warmed and picked fresh from the plant! Find out more about how to sow and grow your own tomatoes.

Read more...
How to get the best from spring plants

When plants wake up during spring, it’s such an uplifting time of year and you’ll want to ensure you get the most from your spring plants until the early summer flowers take over. We'll tell you how...

Read more...
Growing in grow bags

These growing in grow bags tips and ideas will help you to grow thriving plants in grow bags. They are ideal for growing in small spaces or even to increase your harvest.

Read more...
6 fantastic plants for spring pots

Melt away the winter blues with pots filled with gorgeous spring flowers! Find out more about our top 6 plants to plant in spring pots.

Read more...

Instagram