Check out our video where we followup on our fruit trees for winter pruning HERE! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mqqjhdJ008eXpoU.html

My x-husband was a professional apple tree pruner. He was responsible for 25,000 trees, his part of the orchard, and every year all he did was prune trees from Beginning of Dec into Jan. He started when they were very little trees so he knew all these trees. He taught me you need balance on the trunk. Example every north branch needs a south branch and the same with east and west. He could walk up to a tree and tell you exactly what needed to be pruned. He also told me if you have tons of blooms to spray some of the blooms off as to many blooms results in smaller less nutritious fruit. The apples were delicious. I was with him when he went a picked an apple down for me and I kid you not, it was 13 inches around. I made him measure it. I passed the bloom issue onto my neighbor who bought a house with a very established pear tree and he sprayed some of the blooms off like I told him and he told me that year he had nice large beautiful pears that tasted better than any he had ever had. Now he does it every year. Everyone wants his pears. This video expands on more of the logistics on where and why you prune. Excellent video.

I loved the fact that the trees hadn't been pruned properly in the past. Most people, like myself, who are watching a video like this probably aren't experts at pruning trees and have made the same mistake. Thus, this video helps a ton more than telling us how to prune a tree that has already been pruned properly in the past. At least it has helped me a bit.

Either Dan needs to start his own YT channel or he needs to have an arbor segment on a regular basis on your channel Excellent knowledge and delivery!

I PRUNED MY FRUIT TREE FOR THE FIRST TIME USING THIS VIDEO AS GUIDANCE TWO MONTHS AGO, AND IT’S NOW COVERED WITH FRUIT!!!! I CAN’T TAKE OFF ALL CAPS BECAUSE I AM TOO EXCITED AND GRATEFUL. THANK YOU!

I am an Arborist of 25 years who never climbs or prunes large trees. I specialize in consulting as well as structural pruning of young trees and pruning fruit trees... and teaching homeowners how to care for their trees. Daniel did an excellent job explaining subordinating too vigorous of side branches and why trees should be pruned CORRECTLY when they are young. I caution people all the time to never prune more than 20% out of a tree canopy, although the exceptions are that peach/nectarine can tolerate up to 30% quite well (while cherry trees need a more conservative approach) and young trees can certainly tolerate more aggressive pruning to help establish a good structure. Once trees become more mature, over pruning becomes harmful and will result in unwanted, rampant new growth. It is a fabulous idea to have an experienced arborist look at your new trees and teach you proper pruning methods and the "whys" behind good pruning practices. I've seen some pretty wretched tree pruning advice passed off on KZfaq from so-called "experts" and am thrilled that this video offers good, sound advice. Trust me, the cost of a consultation with an experienced ISA Certified Arborist can save you a LOT of money over the long run.

I know it's not exactly a fruit tree but, we had a Ginkgo tree in our yard when I was a kid and the trunk was a double. My dad cut one of the two clean off and after about 10 years you would never know it was double trunk , it became totally symmetrical single trunk tree. Now like 50 years later it is huge and one of the best shaped large ginkgo trees I have ever seen.

At 66, I am now in my forever home and wanted to plant a lot of fruit trees on a small space. Having grown up with being around fruit trees my whole life, I didn't want HUGE trees. It has been only in the past few months I have learned about pruning fruit trees to keep them at a manageable height and can plant more, closer together. See, you are never too old to learn something new!

This is hands down the best exploration in fruit tree establishment I’ve seen. It took me 10 years in the orchard to learn and believe these lessons. I took lots of before and after pictures of trees and individual major decisions for about 5+ seasons. The trees taught me so much. I was only managing 60 or so trees, but when I took over the orchard the trees hadn’t been pruned for a decade.

I'm not a huge fan of the whole central leader. I go for an open center and push for horizontal growth. I like to actually be able to pick my fruit. 8ft tall trees.

It's very important for trees to be able to deal with wind. In Portugal we often build a little square wooden frame around the main trunk, supported by wooden poles. that way the tree can react to the wind while maintaining the position. If the tree doesn't "learn" how to deal with wind, not only it's possible it'll break, but also air bubbles can form in the xylem causing embolism and shutting down the nutrient flow which can eventually kill the tree. So never restrict your tree's movement to that extent. Great video!

I typically prune my trees into an open center style, as I prefer my trees to not get so tall that they require a ladder to pick the fruit. There's nothing wrong about using a central leader or modified central leader, if it's appropriate for the tree (it's a good fit for apples and pears). Shorter overall trees can help reduce how much wind they see (which is definitely a contributing factor to how I prune my trees). Also before you start pruning your trees, please sterilize your pruning equipment (especially between trees so you don't inadvertently transfer a disease)! What typically works for me (*open center*) is to plant bare root trees when they're dormant. This is the 'low stress' time of year. It's cheaper and easier than buying a potted tree. Since the bare root trees are dormant, you can immediately top the main trunk at a height at which you want the scaffold branches to start. This also helps remove all of the branches that grew very vertically when the tree was planted very close to all the other trees in the farm. For topping the trees, somewhere between knee height and waist height works for my trees. In the first year, you'll want to let your tree grow out without much pruning during the season. As the new branches start to get some size on them, I'd highly recommend training the ones that are at the best angles (compass directions) that are spaced well vertically on the main trunk. Make sure balance between north / south scaffolds, to prevent a lop sided tree. Selecting branches that have good crotch angles with the main trunk is key for strong branches. I prefer branches that are between 45 degrees and 60 degrees from the vertical 'up' (with more horizontal corresponding to crotches that will develop way more strongly). More upright branches will be more vigorous, but as they lean over, they will become more stressed by the fruit load (it's a moment arm thing). At then end of the first season, you should have several well spaced scaffold branches that have lignified (hardened) well, and you can tip them near the end of winter. I like lengths that correspond to maybe 1/3 or 1/4 of the trees radius (when it is full size). During the winter, clean up the growth near the crotches, remove all the branches that you don't plan on keeping (but leave spurs!). I'd probably white-wash the trunks so they will take less winter damage. When you tip the scaffold branches pay very close attention to the direction of the buds, as this will dictate where the new growth will occur. You can plan your next seasons growth pretty easily just by looking at how the buds are pointing. Usually you'll get the first, second and maybe third buds from this tipping cut to grow as new branches. These tipping cuts should probably also be about the same height off the ground so that the vigor is balanced between them. Branches that are wildly different in height will grow and very different rates (with taller being more vigorous). In the second year, you probably should still be focusing on getting the next sets of branches from the scaffold tipping cuts at healthy angles (maybe with training if they need it) while managing vigor throughout the season. Remove those water sprouts, look for disease or pest issues. If the tree is growing really well (vigorous, healthy), you might consider a summer pruning (tipping, again). This has to be done at an appropriate time. If your area has fungal or pest issues, you probably don't want to be cutting into your trees at a time when the disease pressure is the highest. Summer pruning is also quite a bit different in how the tree responds. Instead of pushing more vigor like you would get out of a hard prune in the winter, your tree will slow down a bit and put more energy into developing more lateral branches (and, often, fruiting spurs!). I tip my branches at maybe half of their growth for the season (lengthwise, personal preference for me... could also do long or short thirds). You'll want to do this pruning at a point in time where the tree still has enough growing season to develop those side laterals well enough (little tiny branches may not make it through winter). Third year, onward, you're typically in good shape with the structure of the tree. Summer pruning will help you develop fruiting wood, while keeping the tree from getting out of hand vertically. You can use these summer 'haircuts' to balance vigor between branches that get more or less shade. Winter pruning will allow you to take a closer look at your trees without all of the foliage and assess and disease issues, plus I like doing my bigger pruning for balancing the structure during the winter months. But again, balance the timing with how your trees heal and when the disease / pest pressure is going to be the worst. I'd probably allow the tree to keep a couple fruit in the third year, but probably not earlier. After this point you just want to balance out the fruit load with where the fruit is on the branch (close to the main trunk is less stressful than tips) with the overall vigor of the tree. There are some basic rules of thumb for roughly how much branch corresponds to enough energy for a fruit. Smaller fruit require less energy than a large apple. I can generally thin my trees pretty quickly as a backyard gardener (only 30 trees or so), usually after they've started to size up a little bit after setting. I'll usually do this a couple weeks after our last frost. Some years, I don't have to thin much due to those spring frosts.... but that can mean a subsequent fruit crop might be excessive. You'll absolutely get better fruit if you're leaving enough energy for the tree to develop it. Too much fruit and they just won't ripen in time, or will be very small and rather bland. I prefer this very micro managed approach early in the trees life to get it quickly to it's final shape with small cuts that heal quickly. Rehabbing an older tree is more stressful, and additional stressors can invite disease and pests. Healthier trees are generally more resilient, so water, feed and mulch them appropriately. Just keep the mulch off the trunk :)

Great video. To sum it up: 1. Location, location, location. 2. Size matters. 3. Spread the love (sunshine). 4. Learn about pruning early on. Our house has three old apple trees in the yard. They are at least 90 years old since I found aerial protons from 1934 and they were someone’s small orchard. They are now pruned like bonsais, covered with moss, majestic to look at, and bare lots and lots of fruit, so much that it’s not that good for eating. I learned that pruning for beauty and pruning for fruit yield are different things. As other commenters mentioned, for apples, the best fruit comes from culling the flowers and/or young fruit to allow the remainder to grow more vigorously and have more flavor. And, less branches is better, also for yield and also for thickening the limbs for holding the fruit.

In windy areas, an open canopy does a lot better. It doesn't have the main tall branch that catches the wind, the tree is no so top heavy, and wind can move through it with much less resistance. Easier to pick fruit, with branches being lower. It also opens up the center to give all branches more and equal sun, and thus more fruit with less chance of disease, and has symmetrical growth. The shade it casts is also greatly diminished, so your garden is not as effected. Open canopy for a fruit tree is a win, win.

I just bought and planted my first cherry, fuji, persimmon and nectarine trees. I was so interested but overwhelmed by the amount of technical terms from this tree professional. I appreciate you trying Anne(when u asked him to explain like you’re 5).

This explains so much. I have always been confused about pruning. Everything he explained the “why” of now makes sense. Excellent!

I'm a carrob and almond producer from Portugal. Learned a lot of new things in this video. Thank you and enjoy the miracle of nature 🙏

By sheer luck I have had all my fruit trees grow tons of fruit within 3 years. The only thing I did on purpose was cultivated rich soil before planting by turning our thick clay into loose soil by making a lot of compost. Most of my piles start at 5-6 ft tall and turn to black gold in 6-8 weeks. I would rake neighbors' yard for almost no money and take their leaves. I was just collecting cheap materials versus buying compost from a retailer for a fortune. Each pile I made would have cost me $300-$500 dollars if purchased.

Wish I'd seen this two years ago. My 5 y.o. persimmon is like your big peach tree, but more so. Valuable video, Anne. There's a lot of videos about "open up the tree, let the light in," but this is the best I've seen that actually addresses the different stages of fruit tree growth. Thank you very much.

It is pure pleasure listening and learning from experts who also are good at explaining things clearly! And seeing all the cute, serene animals around is lovely, too 😊 Great video.

I stumbled across your channel a couple weeks ago because of this video. I've now watched several of your others (including your announcement) and wanted to say thank you for being real and I LOVE your humor. I can relate to so many things you've shared. It is SO much work to homestead, run social media, AND still somehow find time for sleep, family, & fun. You are doing GREAT even when you feel "failures" and have to set some things aside for a bit. God will give you strength for what is important. ❤️

I love how safety conscious the friend is. he's right. less time on the ladder the best.

Actually, buying and planting a "more established tree" does not guarantee a better /bigger tree quicker. Typically, the small tree is when planted, it will outgrow the larger tree due to less "transplant shock" and root damage. Also, you can select for structure and then minimise the future pruning required

I have watched probably dozens of fruit tree pruning videos, and for some reason I could never quite groc it or apply it to my trees... maybe I've just reached a saturation point where it's starting to make sense and be applicable, or maybe this is just the best video I've seen on the topic! Thank you!

You are an amazing woman! Today I watched your video about the upper floor that is sloping. This meant so much to me, way over here in a tiny village in the mountains of British Columbia, Canada. My home (which I purchased 32 years ago!) was moved to this location in the 1940's. Many many changes, renovations, quick fixes and alterations have happened, beyond and in addition to any stress picking up a 900 sq foot home and moving it would so to a structure. Further, it was placed on a perimeter foundation (read as not a very stable situation!). Today I heard you say that a house will adjust to all of these things, settling into itself each time. Okay, I'm paraphrasing! But now I'm finally okay with "it is what it is", and I'm willing to work with where we are, and only change what is no longer working. Big sigh. I love this old house. I've replaced all of the windows with single hung sash windows which I made. I've removed a structural wall, and opened up the kitchen to the living room, creating a modestly 'great' room. I made all of my kitchen cupboards and doors from recycled and 'found' wood. I planned and stained and installed the 12" board and batten exterior siding, and cedar shingles. All of it has been completed on the side, while raising two boys. But I can't imagine a better more challenging life for my family! The entire house has 9'2" ceilings, and I've installed shelves for my hord of over 1,000 reference books at the 8' level. It's quirkie and old and set in its ways (like me!) - I'm about to turn 62. This old house i's also in the very best place I could think of for my family. I adore our small village of Falkland. My 3 year old granddaughter cheers every time we pull up - "Nanna! We're Home!" Thanks to your video today I'm happy to continue picking away and improving our little home, respecting it's settling and unique angles. Honestly, I do understand that my granddaughter will eventually learn that Nanna can not really control the roll of a ball with a wave of her hand. It's just how the floor slopes! Until then we will work and learn together. Hopefully, one day it will be her tricking a grandchild with her magic.

My grandfather told me, if you need to cut off a lot from a tree, do it in steps. Make a plan on how to reduce the tree. Start in spring when the first leaves are coming out. Cut something every three to four weeks until 6 weeks before the leaves fall. This is a lot of work and you will not harvest a lot, but the tree will not respond in extreme growth next year.

my grandpa and dad were professional gardeners so I helped my dad from when I was 12 and learned a lot from them. since our customers were in urban areas, the fruit trees were also part of the landscape. one thing that you need to do is choose the right place to plant them in the first place! take into account proximity to the house, walkways, driveways and other plants! also, have an idea about how large you want the tree to be and how you want to be able to harvest. are you going to climb into the tree and use a ladder to access the fruit? are you going to want to walk under the branches? can the tree be espaliered against a wall or fence? will it damage the fence and if the fence needs maintenance, can it be accessed once the tree is established? how is the amount of sunlight it get in that area? fruit trees can be incorperated into a landscape and not look like an orchard setting if the forethought is put in from the beginning. the pruning early is so important! I have seen trees that have large branches removed and the wound never healed properly and now the tree is hollow from the rot, which could damage things if the tree falls on the house or other things

As someone who is always wanting to learn more about my fruit trees - that first 12 minutes was gold. Well done and Thank you.

I’ve been trying to figure out pruning my young fruit trees and this is the first video that made sense to me and stuck in my mind. Love the use of the phrase “my precious,” that will really stick with me. Thank you so much!

One of my 1st jobs out of skool back in the day was at a garden nursery. I learnt a lot, pruning like we are shown here, very important where to cut. Amazing how much a tree can benefit, 12 months later it can look like a totally different tree. Choosing the correct trees and plants for the climate, correct soils and fertiliser, under and over watering, pest management, grafting, so many factors to get right. I now have my own little garden which is a balance of flowering plants, herbs and fruits. Probably more enjoyable is the insects and lizards that cohabitate.

6:39 It may be nitpicking, but I've always found it's less likely to create damage to the remaining part of the plant by having the anvil of the secateurs away from the plant. By having the blade facing the plant, remaining cambium tissue is less likely to be damaged by the anvil digging in and bruising the stem. It's better that force is applied to the piece going away. Great video, thanks!

I wish I had known of this vital information from 5 years ago when I first planted a whole bunch of trees that line my fence now. This video is the answer to my nagging questions about the growth and behavior of my trees. I will do my own heart-breaking pruning this Spring to give more support to the "precious" one and I'm so glad I could finally get rid of all the stakes I needed to support the branches of my trees that were not supposed to be. Thank you for creating this video!

I live in the middle of Houston. I have no yard. I don't even have property, yet... I watched the entire video and now know a bit more about caring for fruit bearing trees. Thank you both.

3:40 - I once saw an anciet italian farmer who knotted such trees with equally sized branches into artful twigs, and he claimed, if one knots them, they grow into very stable single stems.

Old bicycle inner tubes are the best for tree staking because they allow movement and don't damage the bark. Also 3 stakes in a triangle are best.

I would be quite keen to understand why he defaulted to central leader with all the trees. That young apple was the perfect candidate for an open centre/vase shape with 3 strong branches right around knee height. That really lovely peach tree was also the perfect open centre and the trees were really nice spaced that could accommodate open centres, so I would love to hear his motivation for trying to find a central leader when the tree was already in very much an open centre structure .Great video BTW and thanks for sharing 🌻

I found this very helpful and I made a few of these mistakes myself... But rather late than never! My cherry tree is 2~ years and my apple trees are half a year. so with all of this in mind, I will have been a good bit more prepared for taking care of them in the long term. So thanks a ton to you Anne and Daniel! very much appreciated.

Growing up we had a small peach orchard in the back yard. Every year after the last frost my dad would viciously thin the newly forming fruit. Come harvest a peach had to be cut in pieces to fit in a wide mouth mason jar. They were that big and delicious.

I leave my tags on, but I move it to a very small twig. You can eventually make a little wooden or aluminum plaque with the variety and attach it to a stake in the ground. That way it can be left there forever.

“Most of what my entire life is, is undoing things that seemed like a good idea at the time.” Amen sister. Amen. 🙌

This is one of the funniest educational videos I've seen. I love the openness to learning from past decisions. Learning what you're doing now thoroughly when you take on a project really benefits you greatly by time saved from not having to fix things that set you back big time 🍵🌈🙏

Anne- I just want to thank you for your part in this, as someone who has ADHD and has struggled with it my entire life, I found it difficult to follow what the arborist was saying (albeit him doing a great job, it's just my brain and the way it processes things) but you pausing it and asking him to further explain and dissecting it so that other's could capture it in a different way, was extremely helpful and valuable. Just so you know, it's highly appreciated it and IT IS ONE OF YOUR MANY STRENGTHS, NOT A WEAKNESS. We all learn at different levels, paces and by different means, having the ability and wherewithal to take something that doesn't make sense and explain it to people so that it does, is a talent. You do that! So thank you from me, my brain and my apple tree 🍎

Being a quilter I really enjoyed seeing the block on your barn. I also learned a vast amount about pruning trees. Thank you so much.

I have just remembered another point to consider when pruning which the tree cutter doesn't suggest is to clean your tools between each tree just like a surgeon would. It is a lot easier to do with hand tools rather than chainsaws.

So glad I watched this video. I bought trees last year. This will help me a lot. Now I understand why the old trees are not doing that great. Hopefully, I can fix them next year. Thank you for sharing!

Green thumb from middle tn here(close to you!)- plant more trees, that way when some get bought/disease/bugs, you don't get your heart broken. Also, plant thickets. Apples and cherries don't do well in middle TN, but plums, peaches and blue berries can thrive if you're on the edge of the Nashville basin. Also- learn to air layer. Some of your clippings could have been transplanted if you had air layered them and then moved them to a pot and winter then in greenhouse/barn, plant next year

I just bought a place, and the trees are a mess. They haven't been pruned in decades! Now I know to limit my cutting, and spread my planned cuts out over several years. Thanks! I also plan to set out a couple new trees this month. Now I know what to look for before I buy! Thanks again!

My family and I have just started our hobby farm on our new (140 y.o., but new to us) property. We started our orchard last summer so this video was really helpful. Thanks, Anne. I love your videos.

The advice he gave was pretty good. It was simple, and informative without being too confusing. I would show this video to my clients.

Love that only 9 minutes in and they both have made LotR references. “One tree limb to rule them all” and 5 mins later “…the lead that will become our Precious”. Lol Also, great fruit tree info.

I usually much prefer your videos that have you making things or working with the animals, but this was surprisingly informative and had a lot of interesting new concepts to learn about. Thanks for teaching me! Daniel was great!

I just found your channel with this video, I admire the life you've built on that land, that would be a dream for me. I grew up in the country and have spent the last 20+ years in the big city, and just having a few acres to have some fruit trees and animals like this again would be fulfilling, a return to a feeling of home. That black and white goat at 28:27 is priceless, "Hey lady, where are you going with that branch, this way"! 😂 Anyhow, you're so warm and vibrant and adorable 😊. Thanks for sharing.

I've been pruning trees for 3 years. I always need a refresher because I do it only during the beginning of the season. Thank you for Making the video very inspirational

Great video, Anne, Daniel & Adam. Tons of helpful info! "Most of my life: undoing things that seemed like a good idea at the time." 😂 Right there with you! Thanks for being so honest and real!

Super helpful! Anne is so likable and Dan is an amazing resource. Good job, guys!

As a new master gardener intern, I just LOVED the step by step discussion on the science (and art) of pruning your fruit trees! It has reinforced some of the information from my Woody Ornamentals module and I will book mark this for future reference. Thank you Anne and to your friend Daniel, for sharing the excellent teaching opportunity for everyone to enjoy and gain knowledge :)

Anne is not the only one lamenting their past pruning decisions. I think pruning is a fascinating skill.

Great video. Excellent interaction and you can tell Daniel loves trees! "Only" five years and he has such an understanding. Thanks for sharing.

My 15 year old orchard is a mess. I have made ALL of these same mistakes😂. I learned a ton from this video. Thank you both so much.

Love the way you study nature and apply it to your garden. Daniel does the same. Thank you both for sharing this knowledge!

What an excellent video Anne, comes at a great time as I'm trying to hatch/grow fruit trees for my brothers' property, hopefully will make them more hardy and be strong and healthy when he finally finishes building his house and is ready to plant them. Absolutely agree with others, we can't or at least not just instantly know everything, it's when you refuse to learn that things get bad, but if you're willing to accept your mistakes and learn, things always go better.

Very nice to see it explained with examples. I've also been told to sanitize my pruners between trees to avoid spreading diseases between them.

Outstanding young lady. Just planted 8 trees and had no idea how to properly prune them. Tks for sharing.

My grandmother has an apple tree that was probably managed properly for years, but then it sat unattended for many more years. And then we got a hold of it! But I think we can make it better just from this video! Thank you :)

If you prune in the fall after the tree goes dormant like I do, I seal the cut limb with warm pine resin or bees' wax. I've been doing this for years without issue to tree nor fruit. Sealing helps to prevent fungal infection and insect problems. Futher, I prune my apples into a "bowl" allowing sun all around to ripen fruit more evenly, but it provides drying of foliage and a balance tree to reduce wind damage(lots of strong wind here). I always leave about 1cm of branch when trimming to allow the side branch free sap flow in spring - drying of the cut stem over winter sometimes affects this. We live in central Alberta and our winters are usually very dry; frequently under 30% relative humidity. Since starting this, I have had no winter kill of the side branch due to excessive drying. Cheers.

Love the humility on display here - you need to admit you don't know in order to learn better. Great vid.

I just discovered this channel and I am interested in pruning citrus trees and cacao trees in Southern Colombia. Anne's comments and looks are so fun to watch - she keeps it interesting.

I really enjoyed this entire video! Love the humor and the friendly atmosphere. So helpful too! Thank you for sharing your mistakes so other people can avoid making them! 😊

This is the best video I have watched about pruning fruit trees. I have had trees for ten years now and I always dread going out and pruning them because I am surely doing it wrong. Every time, I watch a videos on how to do it. The presenter is typically boring and / or confusing. Neither of these are an issue in this. Always a pleasure watching you and Adam on the farm getting things done. Thanks for sharing. 😊

This was so helpful! I’m getting ready to buy fruit trees and now I feel more confident about setting them up well. Thank you for posting!

Anne, thank you so much for this video... I've been searching for a few years for that perfect video that tells the whys and how's of just such fruit trees. I will be following along to see more with you and Daniel.

I'll be watching more from you - very relatable. I'm glad to hear you and Daniel(?) have made a whole series. I am about to head outside and confidently trim my young fruit trees now. Thank you!

Best way to learn how to prune is to do it a lot. You should prune according to what you want from your tree. If you are wanting to induce growth, spring pruning is great each year. If you want to inhibit growth, prune in the summer. Your fruit set is going to depend on size of tree, precocity of the fruit variety, and precocity of the rootstock.

This is fantastic. I have about 10 young fruit trees in my backyard that have been totally neglected for two years. This will help me understand how to take care of them the right way up front, before they put too much energy into leaves and fruit.

Please have Daniel on often! I l love his respect for trees and what they need (and don't need). Agree with "undoing what I thought was a good idea at the time"!😮😊

There is so much more to taking care of fruit trees than I ever imagined. Thank you for the excellent education

Great video! I had no idea what I was doing and my beautiful peach tree split with all the peaches I was so excited about.

Long handle anvil lopper might be worth a look at, works on branches with diameter up to 2 inches. Quicker and safer than saw

I nursed a plum peach tree. I heated it during winter and watered and fertilized it and it grew fruited in 4 years. Then I said let me give it more and more miracle grow and WATER. And in the mist of growing/flowering/fruiting -- it suddenly died. Too much miracle grow??? Too much water??? Or both? I suffered heartbreak -- I nurtured that tree. I treasured that plum peach tree. I got it from my mother. I have never seen it anywhere else. Two of those trees died and only one survives. I almost killed the one surviving tree --- so I live scared ... truly scared. The bonified tree killer is desperately trying to keep this one tree alive.

Anne! Thank you for another fabulous video! This was super informative, interesting, and amusing. I love love love how you repeat the important info to clarify (I do that too lol!). I wish you an abundance of fruit from these trees :)

The staking part is very thoughtful to have added to the video. I also staked my amazing apple tree that I adopted. It was neglected for 6 years and is on a death role lean. I pruned it heavily, because I knew it wouldn't live another 2 years anyway, if left untouched. I also use a heavy strap to slowly pull it over and force branches to the opposite side. This is PURELY experimental, because I cannot prune enough to safe the tree as is. So we will see what happens. I am planning on doing this until fall anyway, when I can prune more. Next year it's on its own

This is hands down the best video I have seen on KZfaq about the care and maintenance of fruit trees for the many of us who have gotten it all wrong. Thank you so much.

What a great, informative video! I bought a property where the previous owner planted 200 trees, shrubs, bushes on 1.5 acres. Some are fruit trees. Many are overgrown right now so I've spent this Spring and Summer trimming, having no real idea what I'm doing, just going off instinct. Happy to say my instinct is very close to what this gentleman says. I've found I REALLY enjoy it, too. Never thought I'd ever say that. LOL My trees are shaping up nicely, pardon the pun.

If you use seaweed fertilizer it helps establish it and provides growth hormones so it will fruit the second year after planting. It will grow 3x as fast too.

Wished I had seen this 2 years ago - I planted 2 pear trees in my suburban back yard 3 years ago. They were both multi-graphed trees - 1 was traditional western pears and the other was eastern pears. Both trees grew so well after planting and the second year flourished producing fruit on both trees. Over the second winter (south-eastern British Columbia, Canada) the local deer took a liking to the oriental tree and nearly striped it other than 3 branches. Last year, the western tree grew to about twelve feet high as I had never pruned it and produced no fruit. The little crippled orientalist tree produced 15 pears. Great video. I’m much more knowledgeable now. Thanks.

So good! I recently bought a home with dozens of fruit trees (apricot, peach, plum) in various stages of development and I can tell that they all need some love. This was very helpful and I'll definitely be watching more of your videos. Subbed, thanks!

Thank you for this great episode, and for having Daniel sharing his pruning knowledge.

I run into these issues all the time. People plant fruit trees, then never bother to maintain them, then wonder why the have major issues 10-15 years later. I never encounter young trees like this, always getting older sick or overgrown ones, with Customers expecting miracles from me. Good video guys. Maintain your trees AS THEY GROW !

New subscriber because I learned so much !! Thank goodness I came across this video so I can get my trees in the right path as this is my second year gardening and learning everyday, so I haven't done major mistakes but i was getting there ! Thanks for this awesome video.

I have to say, my first year, I planted my apple trees they gave me a bunch of little fruit, granny apples, and apple crisp, then wind took them all granny apple ,(nothing). Apple crisp, only one survived until the deer got to it🙄 so I ended up with nothing. Hope this year I do better. Great video.

Best newly discovered channel. I recently had my two young apple trees, pear tree, and Triumph Elm tree pruned by my tree guy. Glad I did now that I see there is more to it than meets the eye.

This was the best video I have ever watched on pruning my fruit trees and I really appreciate it! ❤

super helpful - I've realized so many mistakes I've made. - if possible, would also be cool to have tips like this for 'out of shape' old tress

Today we planted a peach tree in the back yard of our home, which is a rental. (The landlord is happy with that). I know it’s not the ideal month for this, however, years ago a nursery told me that the best time to plant a tree is 10 years ago. The second best time is today. 😊 This morning I watched your video on planting trees so I think we did a much better job than we would have had I not seen your instructions. Thank you!!!

Thanks for this video. I have moved onto 10 1/2 acres. We love it here, and we have planted fruit trees. I learned lots from your video today. 😊

Can't believe I'm sitting here super excited about getting out tomorrow morning and prune our old pear tree and young plum tree. 😅😍

I like how Daniel keep it maximum informative and very professional. And, how Anne sprinkle a little gardener soul for all of us. 😊

there are so so many things to learn and understand from this when talking about raising kids. it's pretty amazing!

Loved this! I have about forty trees in my suburban backyard; walnut, cedar, cherry, oak, maple, juniper, hawthorn, crabapple, birch, ranging in age from 10 to 40 years old. Sounds overcrowded until I mention they're all bonsai! 8) my cherries have fruit the size of peas; the pear currently grow to full size. looks funny on a four foot tall tree. Your post was most helpful in keeping me focused on branch spacing. Thanks for the reminder!

Love how Daniel explains stuff. Deep understanding of tree growth and it's environment laid down in simple way