Pruning plum trees, when is ...

[flowerlady]

When is the best time to prune very overcrowded plum trees?

Is there a special tree paint to put on the cuts?  Is this very necessary?

Any advice appreciated.

[flowerlady]

[ina]

Hah! Just yesteday I asked this question to someone at the allotments who has several plum trees. He told me he does it in winter but you could do it right after harvesting.
sorry, didn't ask him about tree paint.

[Tulipa]

I have been told that you prune apple trees in winter but stoned fruits in late summer before the frosts come. 

Regarding the paint on the cuts there are 2 schools of thought, one that you paint them and one that you don't as the tree will heal itself, I am sure others will be able to give the reasons why. 

We pruned back our plum tree last September and have the most superb crop now, but I think it is a good year for them anyway.

[beejay]

I was told at college that plum trees are best pruned in the summer when there is little risk of the tree getting silver leaf. I was also told that cuts are best left to heal themselves assuming you are not cutting back huge great branches, ie let nature get on with it.

[Tulipa]

Silver leaf is what I had been told too - thank you for reminding me, it was somewhere in the depths of my brain!

[ellkebe]

I was recently told about Silver leaf too, and was advised to prune 'stones fruits' in autumn, after the harvest.  Trees on my plot  haven't been pruned since the flood receded so I need to stagger it all I can  :(

[Robert_Brenchley]

Was that Noah's flood or a more recent one? My plot was flooded the other week, but it doesn't seem to have done much harm. Previous deluges have sometimes resembled the Biblical one, but that was before I did my flood defences.

[busy_lizzie]

We have just done our Victoria plum tree. We were advised to do it in the summer.  Also we just snapped the branches off by hand as it seems they heal better if you do it this way.  We just tidied it up a bit.  It still has fruit on it which are now starting to ripen. busy_lizzie

[bupster]

Does anybody have a link to an idiot's guide to pruning? I just ate all the plums off my tree  :-X so it seems like the right time to prune! :D

[ellkebe]

Robert, that was Noah's flood  :)
Mind you, I shouldn't complain - I reckon my lottie neighbours are gathering round and saying the same thing about my grass!

[jennym]

Prune plums and associated stone fruits in summer when growth is active. To promote fruiting spurs, you can use several methods. If the branch already has some fruiting spurs lower down and then fresh leggy growth, just tip this growth, i.e. cut back by 1/4 to 1/3 about now. If the branch has long bare portions, and spurs near the ends, you can promote the growth of spurs by locating nodes along the branch, then making a small cut about 1" long and about 1/8" deep above nodes. Do this around April/May. This stimulates the nodes into growth. You can also festoon the tree - this means bending the young branches down towards the ground and tying them in pplace until they fix in that position. It will encourage the growth of fruiting spurs too.