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How to Prune a Plum Tree
European and Asian plum trees benefit from an open-canopy pruning shape in late winter to early spring.
Pruning your plum tree (Prunus domestica) each year not only gives you bigger, better quality fruit at harvest time, it also reduces pest problems and helps the tree live longer. Plum trees thrive in U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 5 through 9, with some variation according to variety.
Japanese variety plums (Prunus salicina), such as 'Beauty Plum’ -- hardy in zones 6 through 10 -- are round or heart shaped rather than elongated like the European plum varieties. Both types of plum trees should be pruned using the same methods.
Pruning Time
Prune plum trees during the late winter to early spring dormant season before new growth begins. Prepare for pruning day by gathering the correct tools and equipment.
Pruning to an open-center shape allows sunlight to reach the inner canopy of the tree. Sunlight encourages fruit to grow on the inner branches. These are called fruit spurs. An open center pruning plan consists of the 2 1/2- to 3 1/2-foot-tall trunk and three or four scaffold branches, which grow outward rather than upward.
Things You'll Need
Heavy duty garden gloves
Long-handled pruning shears
Orchard tripod ladder (optional)
According to the University of California Backyard Orchard website, "Folding ladders and extension ladders are unsafe and not designed for unstable ground or tree work. An orchard (tripod) ladder is the only ladder considered acceptable and safe, even on hillsides and uneven ground. Properly cared for, an orchard ladder will last a lifetime and more."
Step 1
Select three or four strong branches growing at an 80 to 90 degree angle from the tree trunk to serve as scaffold branches.
Tip
Wipe the blades of your pruning shears with alcohol soaked cotton or cloth. Alcohol kills potentially harmful bacteria that may infect the tree through pruning cuts
Step 2
Remove all dead and broken branches, all suckers and water sprouts. Water sprouts are branches that grow vertically from the trunk and main branches. Suckers grow from the root stock out of the base of the tree trunk.
Warning
Do not leave branch stubs. The wounded area does not heal easily and may encourage disease.
Step 3
Remove all branches and twigs that cross each other. Branches that rub against each other invite disease. Make clean cuts flush with the branches that will remain.
Tip
It is unnecessary to paint over the wounded area. Cuts heal better when exposed directly to the air and sunlight.
Step 4
Remove all branches except the three or four scaffold branches. Maintain the scaffold shape each year by pruning away branches that grow straight up or cross other branches.
Tip
After the pruning job is complete, wipe the pruning shears again with alcohol. Keep all pruning equipment in a dry, covered area.
Following this basic pruning plan, your plum tree will thrive and produce fruit for 15 to 20 years.
