Hi all. I have this big cherry. I have lots of dead limbs. When can I safely prune them? August? Or when? Any pruning tips really would be greatly appreciated. I have experience pruning but not fruit trees. Thanks in advance.
Prunus avium gets a lot bigger than this. Cut out the dead limbs any time and leave the rest alone. Instead of interfering with fruit production by trying to shrink it.
Wow really? It's already about 30ft. You know if there are any cherry specific diseases I should know about that may influence my pruning times?
The USDA Cooperative Extension Service down here used to put out an entire illustrated booklet called Why Cherry Trees Die (see related material below) - you are not going to be able to force your specimen down into a dwarf height category by sawing away 2/3 of it. Without creating a bunch of large openings in the bark. That are liable to become entry points for one pathogen or another. And it will forever be trying to return to the size its genetic blueprint is calling for every time you whack it back. Cherry | Hortsense | Washington State University (wsu.edu)
