Do cherry trees need pruning? When is the best time to prune cherry branches?

Every cherry tree can produce big and delicious cherries while ensuring the yield, which is inseparable from our pruning. Some cherry trees try their best to grow upwards, but if they are too high, the fruits below will not have enough nutrients to absorb, and they will be small and few, and the branches above will not bear fruit, so we can only prune them off and leave the nutrients to the old branches.

Cherry pruning time

The best time to prune cherry trees is in March, which is probably in early spring, specifically before budding. The next best time to prune cherry trees is in May and June in summer and August and September in autumn. This way the wounds heal faster and the overall nutrition of the tree is balanced, which is conducive to flowering and fruiting that year.

How to prune a cherry tree

The pruning methods for cherry trees are different in different seasons. In spring, the newly grown branches, leaves and flower buds are mainly pruned, leaving only a small number of thick new buds.

In summer, a new round of pruning and orchard cleaning will be carried out, and the new branches will be twisted, sprouted after pruning, too dense, and crossed. In autumn, the top buds of the branches and leaves of the current year will be pruned to avoid consuming too many nutrients. In winter, some branches and leaves will be shortened and pruned back.