Prune your fruit trees with confidence!

It took me a while to learn how to be confident while pruning fruit trees. Don't worry too much about it. Use each tree... each cut as a learning experience. It's your tree. Be confident.

In this video I walk you through some of my thought process while pruning one of my Pear trees. You can use this as a guide for your own trees, but mostly I just want you to stop being afraid to make those cuts!

[AlbertaUrbanGarden]

It does take quite a bit of confidence to learn how to prune fruit trees! I have cleaned up a number of trees and have gotten my method down. That said I spent some time looking at the architecture of a few older centennial trees and wow! the people whom pruned the trees 100 years ago really had some foresight !

[scottschaeffer]

I find pear trees a challenge compared to my other fruit trees. They sucker like crazy and they constantly want to form more dominate trunks and multiple branches. But you can’t beat a fresh Bartlett!

[sirjimmy]

Good point that you need to be confident when pruning the tree. We have a single pear tree that is a little younger than yours. I took out the center, vertical branch about a little over a month ago. It significantly reduced the height, but the rest of the branches much more accessible.

[lopaka]

The most important information you provided is that the tree is your tree, no one else’s. If you don’t get it right, there is always next year.

[MidwestGardener]

It's your tree. I like a great place to start. I'll keep that in mind when we get our first fruit tree this year.

[sahmadi]

Thank you. You addresses one of the most common pear tree pruning (the branches that grow upright). I have a pear tree that grows very upright and fast. I am always trying to get it to grow out instead of up.

[CONCERTMANchicago]

Here is a tip! To discover best method on how to cut off a branch, and at what angle. First look at where your thumb attaches to hand. If you were forced to cut your thumb off,  where could you make smallest wound size possible in order for it to heal over quicker? And like when installing a pipe, cutting a "Square" angle perpendicular would make smallest possible hole on end. So best way would be making Amputation just outside your hands skin webbing, where bone resembles "Branch collar"! Not flush against hand, minus any stub. That mistake would be just as bad as a flush cut, which is same improper damaging technique you showed us in video. Prune for and retain branches having optimal 45 degree angle from trunk, they grow much slower when parallel with horizon. These "Lateral Meristems" will also produce more fruits, compared to apical dominant upright stems which produce more leaf growth. Like your idea on heavy fruits helping to train an upward pointing branch, by weighing it down. One can also coax new young branches to bend over toward a 45 degree angle manually, with a little sporadic persuasion over three week period.

[lilbitatatime]

Thank you for posting this. I have lack of confidence when pruning probably because I can't envision what the tree will eventually look like. I need to remind myself like you mentioned in the beginning of the video. It's my tree, right? I'm sure your pear tree will turn out the way you plan it to grow. Well done!

[cathiez]

Thanks Blake! I have a tart cherry tree that desperately need pruning. With the info on this video - as well as a vid that Praxxus (Ray) did - I have more confidence that I can do it!

[SunnyHilltop]

Looks great. I'm going to need to prune my trees pretty soon. My pears are much taller than all my other fruit trees so I definitely want to shorten them a bit. I also need to prune the branches that grow straight up and the ones that cross and touch some of the other branches. Just some general pruning for the health of the tree. Thanks for sharing :)

[WindsorCraftDesigns]

Thanks Blake. Your videos just keep getting better :).

[darknlovelyanitaw.]

Great information. My Gardner came and pruned all of m fruit trees🌱🌱🌱

[juanedosz]

I like the idea of ​​feeling the tree as mine, this is definitely the best advice✋🏼. Good video

[jeanderheimer]

Excellent video! I have 6 unpruned trees in the same stage of growth. Gonna make them mine. Thanks

[oysteinholand]

Yeei! Finally a video about your orchard!
The trees look great :D
Keep up the good work, and save som pears for the rest of us, cus that tree is gonne produce like mad in a coupple of years! (I hope)

[EricJewett]

Wow, those trees look great Blake. I remember watching the video of you planting them. Keep up the great work!

[gardenlove]

yep, i subscribed. I'm always intimidated when i prune my fruit trees, and I'm not sure why??? lol. at least now i can say "oh well, it's my dang tree anyway!" thanks again! :)

[JandjacresNet]

I bet you get oodles of fruit off that tree now. Well done, Artist Kirby. I love my folding saw for pruning. Looks like you do too :-)

[tobyhoule]

Great instructional video. Keep up the good work!

[pdilutis]

Thank you. This was a very helpful video.