Thinning & pruning
Fruit thinning
Summer pruning
helps sunlight to
reach the fruit
When conditions are favourable in the spring, fruit trees and bushes can set far more fruit than the plants can cope with. Last year brought many reports of plum trees that had, literally, been rent asunder by the weight of the ripening fruit. This year's set seems to be equally good.
If the crop looks heavy, you should consider thinning apples, pears, peaches, apricots and plums. Thining gives better sized fruit, helps ripening, reduces the tendency to biennial cropping, avoids branches breaking and promotes fruit bud formation for next year's crop. Remove diseased, damaged and distorted fruitlets first.
Apples and pears
To increase fruit size, thin within 6 weeks of petal fall.
If larger fruit size is not your aim, thin after the 'June drop'. This natural process that takes place around June - when trees, of their own accord, will drop small, diseased and pest ridden fruits.
Aim for 1 fruit per cluster, with fruit spaced 10-15cm (4-6in) apart. If fruit is sparse, leave 2 per cluster. Cooking apples, thin to 15-22cm (6-9in) apart.
Plums
Thin after the natural 'June drop'.
Aim for a minimum of 4in (10cm) between fruits. Don't be tempted to leave more.
Where thinning is not practical - on a large tree for example - prop up branches to support them if the crop is heavy.
Peaches
Thinning is essential to get good quality fruit.
When fruitlets are grape-sized - thin to one fruit per cluster
When walnut-sized - thin to 15cm (6in) apart.
Summer pruning
Summer pruning is done to restrict the growth of cordons, espalier and other trained forms of red and white currants, gooseberries, apples, pears and plums. Summer pruning lets air circulate within the tree or bush. It helps sunlight to reach the fruit.
Lots of useful tips on pruning can be found in the HDRA Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening
Apples and pears
Summer pruning is best done in August - when new shoots are of pencil thickness and becoming hard at the base. Pruning earlier than this allows more growth to occur, so a second pruning may be needed.
- New shoots, at least 25cm (9in) long, growing from the main framework of the tree: prune to 3in (7-8cm) - or to 3 leaves above the cluster at the base of the shoot.
- Shoots growing from a spur: prune to 2.5cm (1in) or one leaf above the basal cluster.
Check again in October, and remove any soft regrowth, and prune any more shoots that may have reached 25cm (9in) in length.
Plums
In June, shoots with at least 6 new leaves - pinch back to 6 leaves
In early September - prune back those shoots to 3 leaves
Red and white currants, gooseberries
Prune bushes and trained forms once the plants have stopped growing for the year, usually in late June.
Identify the leading shoot on each branch, and leave it alone. Prune all side shoots growing from the main branches back to 5 leaves.
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