Pruning Fruit Trees and Shrubs
Good pruning transforms a struggling tree into a productive, healthy one — and bad pruning causes years of problems. These 30 guides cover everything: which tools to use, exactly when to prune each species, how to build trained forms like espaliers and cordons, and how to solve the most common pruning problems including no fruit after cutting and biennial bearing.
Basics
- When is the best time to prune fruit trees and shrubs?
- What tools do you need for pruning trees and shrubs?
- How to make the right pruning cut every time
- Should you use wound sealant when pruning trees?
- What happens if you prune a fruit tree too hard?
Fruit Trees
- How to prune apple trees step by step
- How to prune pear trees for better crops
- How and when to prune plum trees
- How to prune cherry trees without killing them
- How to prune peach and nectarine trees
- How to prune a fig tree to get more fruit
Soft Fruit
- How to prune gooseberry bushes for a better crop
- How to prune black, red, and white currants correctly
- How to prune raspberry canes after fruiting
- How to prune blackberry and hybrid berry canes
Ornamental Shrubs
- How and when to prune roses in your garden
- How to prune hydrangeas without losing the flowers
- Why is my wisteria not flowering — and how to fix it with pruning
- How hard and when should you prune buddleia?
Training Forms
- How to prune and train an espalier fruit tree
- How to fan-train a fruit tree against a wall
- How to prune a cordon apple tree or gooseberry
- How to prune a fruit tree to an open-centre shape
- What is formative pruning and how do you do it?
- What is renovation pruning and when should you use it?
- How to prune an overgrown fruit tree safely
Problems
- How to deal with crossing branches when pruning
- What are water shoots and should you remove them?
- How to stop apple trees fruiting every other year
- Why is my fruit tree not producing fruit after pruning?
Get the Complete Pruning Guide
The SelfEcoFarm pruning guide brings together all these topics in a single clear reference — with species calendars, training diagrams, and troubleshooting for the most common problems.
Get the pruning guide