To maintain the open center, remove any vigorous upright shoots developing on the inside of the tree, leaving the smaller shoots for fruit production. First, remove low-hanging, broken, and/or diseased limbs. Pruning Older Treesįollow the same principles used after the first growing season. Pruning in late winter reduces the chance of winter injury and infection by the bacterial canker organism. In the mountains and Piedmont, wait until mid-February to prune.

Do not prune trees from October to January. Peaches are produced on wood that grew during the previous season. Once the scaffold system of the young peach tree is established, prune as little as possible until the tree becomes mature enough to fruit, usually in the third or fourth year. Next, remove vigorous upright shoots that may have developed on the inside of the main scaffolds to develop an open-center (vase-shaped) tree. Prune in mid-February to early March.įirst, remove diseased, broken, and low-hanging limbs. First Growing SeasonĪt the end of the first growing season, the tree should look similar to the “before pruning” example below.

Select scaffold limbs during the summer or wait until just before growth begins in the second season. If no desirable laterals are available, head the tree to the desired height and cut out all side branches to one bud.Ī number of shoots will develop during the season that can be selected for scaffold limbs. The lowest limb should be about 15 inches and the highest about 30 inches from the ground. If the tree is branched when it comes from the nursery, select three or four laterals with wide-angle crotches (greater than 45°) spaced evenly up and around the trunk for the permanent scaffold limbs. Cut back newly planted trees to about 30 inches high, just above a lateral branch or bud.

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