beach chick Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 my plum tree is 3 or 4 years old, and cropping heavily - so heavily that the branches are all pointing downwards. some of them are not very convenient either, sticking out the wrong way etc. should I thin the fruit I can get to? and can I just chop off the inconvenient branches? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 I will be watching this thread keenly because we have the same situation. Sorry I can't help except to say that we did cut the top leader out of ours last autumn. Our tree is probably about 8 years old they are best pruned when the sap has gone down ie autumn early winter I think, then the cut edges sealed with a prune sealing product to prevent disease getting in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 plums should only be pruned mid to late summer to avoid them catching silver leaf disease while the weather is still warm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickpea Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 You can thin the fruit if you wish, advisable to do so to prevent any branches from damage. Plums can be pruned between March & October without fear from silver leaf etc. treating the pruned areas with a protective paint is not usually necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saronne Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 I was told by a very experienced fruit grower that thinning out the fruit ensures your tree doesn't go 'biennial' . For years, my small Victoria plum did this. Once I started thinning out the fruit, it started producing every year and the fruit was better size and quality. Saronne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
