A plum tree does not form a light-flooded crown with abundant fruit wood on its own. Without regular pruning, the stone fruit tree will age in no time. In this tutorial, read instructions for all types of pruning that are important for a rich harvest of juicy plums.
How do I prune a plum tree for an optimal harvest?
To properly prune a plum tree, carry out planting pruning, training pruning and maintenance pruning. Prune in the spring after planting, in the 2nd and 3rd year in February to early March and from the 4th year in October/November to promote fruiting wood and prevent senescence.
Cutting types and dates
The plum tree has the most productivefruit wood on two to four-year-old shoots Older wood rapidly loses vitality and fertility. Regular pruning measures effectively prevent premature aging. A plum tree makes its first acquaintance with pruning shears in the year it is planted in order to initiate the cultivation of a productive crown. The following table summarizes all the important types of cuts with tips for choosing the best date:
| Cut style | Goal/Occasion | best date |
|---|---|---|
| Plant cutting | vital branching, prologue for crown education | Spring after planting |
| Educational Cut | Crown construction | 2. and 3rd year in February to early March |
| Conservation cut | Promoting fruit wood | from the 4th year in October/November |
| Rejuvenation cut | revitalize old plum tree | 1. October to February 28th |
Plant cutting
Regardless of whether you plant a plum tree in autumn or spring: the date for pruning is always in early spring. Please choose a day with temperatures above freezing and dry weather with overcast skies. How to cut correctly:
- Initiate crown development: 1 straight central shoot and 4 evenly distributed leading shoots
- Excess shoots: remove or shorten to 10 cm cones
- Strong leading shoots: cut back by a third
- Weaker leading branches: shorten by half
In order for cut shoots to grow in the desired direction, expert pruning is important. Always cut 3 to 5 millimeters above an eye that points outwards and upwards. The cut causes a stagnation of sap, which results in adequate budding. The stronger the pruning, the stronger the subsequent growth. For this reason, you should prune an already strong leading shoot more cautiously than a weak branch.
Tip
Cutting plum trees in rainy weather is taboo. The combination of cuts and damp wood invites fatal pathogens and wound parasites. The focus is on fungal infections and fruit tree cancer, which multiply explosively on moist wood tissue.
Educational Cut
In the second and third year, the pruning care of a plum is dedicated to further crown development. The image below illustrates the correct cut. How to have a flawless parenting experience:
- Best time is in February
- Each leading branch: Leave 4 to 8 outward-facing side shoots
- Side shoots: cut back thelast year's growth by half
- Excess shoots: remove or shorten to cones
- Leading branches: cut last year's growth so that shoot tips are in the sap level
Additionally, remove water shoots that sprout from the trunk or wildlife base during the summer. Ideally, these shoots should be cut or torn off in theunwoody stage because they compete with the plum crown for light and nutrients.
Grow a plum crown with a central shoot and four evenly arranged leading branches. The terminal buds of the leading branches are in sap. The tip of the middle is slightly higher, resulting in an ideal angle of 90° to 120°.
Background
Keep guide branches in sap level
A symmetrical crown structure depends largely on the fact that allleading branches are in the sap balance. Only one dominant central shoot towers about two scissor lengths above four leading shoots. Starting from different starting points on the trunk, the tip buds of the leading branches should be at the same height. Without the uniform height level, the growth law of top funding takes effect. The leading branch with a higher positioned bud is preferentially supplied with nutrients and grows disproportionately strong. In the end, the treetop loses massive stability and, in the worst case, lists.
Conservation cut
Following the crown development, pruning care on the plum tree results in maintenance pruning at intervals of one to two years. The focus is on removed fruit wood, which is largely exhausted after four years. A typical symptom of this stage is limp, heavily branched shoots. This is how the maintenance cut works:
- Best time is in late autumn (October/November)
- Cut out weak, dead and inwardly growing branches
- Cut off steep shoots or tie them down
- Scaffold shoots that are too long slim down to a lower side shoot
Once you have thinned out the crown thoroughly, deal with the fruit wood. You direct low-hanging, worn branches to a side shoot that is closer to the trunk or leading branch. Choose biennial side shoots with flower buds. At the fork of old and young fruit wood, choose an intersection a few millimeters in the old wood. Since a plum produces its buds in summer, the flowers are easy to see in late autumn.
Cut out dead wood, steep shoots and awkwardly positioned branches to short cones. Exhausted, drooping fruit wood is rejuvenated by diverting the shoot onto a slanting outward-facing side shoot, which is garnished with spherical flower buds.
Excursus
Tie down vertical tabs
Plum trees tend to sprout vertical shoots on the tops of their leading branches. With tightly upright growth, no shoot can turn into valuable fruit wood. If riders are in a favorable position, tie the shoots down at an angle between 45° and 90° - 60° is optimal. Growth calms down so that the first spherical flower buds appear after a short time. If a so-called water layer is in an inconvenient place, you should tear it down or cut it off as quickly as possible.
Rejuvenation cut
Stone fruit is naturally more sensitive to radical pruning than pome fruit. If you have prescribed a rejuvenation treatment for an old, neglected plum tree, we recommend the following, moderate pruning:
- The best time is in winter, in accordance with the Federal Nature Conservation Act
- In the first step, completely thin out the crown
- Cut branches from 5 cm in diameter back to 10 to 15 cm short cones
- Aging, overhanging broom shoots indicate a two-year-old, diagonally pointing outward side shoot
- Shorten exhausted fruit wood without side shoots to short stubs
By cutting thick branches onto cones, you support wound healing. On cut surfaces with a diameter of more than 3 centimeters, apply a thin layer of tree wax to the edges of the wound. This protects valuable cambium wood from frost damage. Over the next two years, the cones dry out while several young shoots sprout from them. In the second or third summer, remove the remaining cones. Select one or two promising, diagonal-horizontal specimens from among the young shoots and remove the others.
A moderate rejuvenation cut revitalizes an old plum tree. Lighten the crown thoroughly. Cut branches with a diameter of more than 5 cm into short cones. Redirect overhanging fruit wood to short side shoots.
Frequently asked questions
Are plums self-fertile?
Popular varieties for the home garden, such as “Hauszwetschge” and “Hanita”, thrive as self-fertile plum trees. In principle, it is always an advantage for optimal yield if you combine two different varieties. Any other plum or plum can be considered as a pollinator variety, including the dwarf plum or plum plum. It is important to note that the trees are within a radius of 50 to 100 meters.
I would like to plant a plum tree in my front garden. Can I limit growth to a height of 3.50 meters by cutting?
For this purpose, we recommend using a young plant as a bush with a trunk height of 40 to 60 centimeters. This form of training is much weaker than a half- or standard-stem system. With the help of annual pruning measures in autumn, you can easily limit the growth height to a height of 3.50 meters.
My plum tree is 6 years old and has never bloomed. What to do?
Plums and other fruit trees do not bear flowers on steeply upward branches. You can promote the formation of fruit wood with flower buds by tying steep shoots down into a horizontal position. At an ideal angle of 60° to the trunk or leading branch, the growth in the shoot calms down so that the first flowers develop and fruit form. In addition, in the fall after the leaves have fallen, cut back overly long, hanging branches down to a side shoot that points diagonally outwards.
We are moving and would like to take our 3 year old plum tree with us. What should you pay attention to when transplanting?
At the age of 3, a plum tree can usually cope well with the change of location. The best time is in autumn after the leaves have fallen. Since a lot of root volume is inevitably lost, cut back all branches by a third or half before or after. In this way you restore the balance of plant parts below and above the ground.
The 3 most common cutting mistakes
Without expert crown construction, home gardeners struggle with a barren plum tree. If you ignore pruning care entirely, you will only be able to enjoy a rich harvest for a few years. If scissors and saws are used in rainy weather or frost, diseases and dead wood spread into the treetop. The following table summarizes the 3 most common cutting errors with tips for preventive measures:
| Cutting errors | malicious image | Prevention |
|---|---|---|
| no education carried out | tightly upright crown, no flowers or fruits | Crown structure with guide branches at an ideal 60° angle |
| rarely or never cut | premature aging, little fruit wood | carry out maintenance pruning every 1-2 years |
| cut in rain or frost | Spread of disease and dead wood | Pruning care in dry, frost-free weather |
Zwetschken schneiden (Pflaumen) in der Praxis - Hauszwetschke und moderne Sorten
Tip
Plum plums are ideal for the balcony and small garden. These are selections of noticeably narrow-growing varieties that are grafted onto a weakly growing rootstock. As columnar fruit, plums benefit from occasional pruning and maintenance pruning in late autumn. Cut back excessively long side branches to 10 cm. Remove steep shoots completely.
