I like to prune my fruit trees in the Summer and in the early Spring (sometimes late Winter). This doesn't happen every season because it's largely dependent on when I have time!
Summer Pruning
At this time of year there is lots of green on the trees. I like to imagine that the leaves are solar panels that are charging batteries. The battery bank is the root system. If I remove some solar panels the batteries can't get as much charge. This helps me control how much energy is being stored for growth in the Spring. There are some cases where I want to allow a tree maximum charge for maximum growth in the Spring. There are other cases where I like to limit the growth. For this tree in this video the growth needs limited. This tree tends to put on LOADS of green growth, but limited fruit. My theory is that by trimming it way back in the Summer I'm reducing how much it can expand in the next season.
Spring (late Winter) Pruning
Most of the pruning that I do at this time of year is simply for shaping the tree. The batteries have already charged all last season. It is waiting patiently to wake up to make fruit. When I shape the tree at this time of year I'm directing the stored energies and creating a size and shape that I desire for my orchard. I like to keep the trees pretty low for easy harvesting.
The Pruners
With a bit of embarrassment I'll admit that I'm kinda cheap. My pruners have been clearance rack specials. They have done the job ok, but they aren't that great. This time I was privileged to try these new heavy duty pruners made by Planted Perfect. They were pretty nice. Certainly nicer than any I've ever used before. The one drawback was the weak rubber coating on the handles, but otherwise I really like these pruners.
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