Can Fruit Trees be Pruned when they are Blooming?

The best time to prune fruit trees is in the late winter or early spring when they are still dormant. Well, what if you missed that window and your fruit trees have already started blooming? The answer is easy, but let's discuss two things to consider before we answer it.

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First, most fruit trees bloom before or at the same time as the emergence of new leaves. Why is that significant? Because the leaves are what generate the energy a tree needs to grow and produce sugars. Think of all the energy that a tree uses to bloom, and the amount of sugar that is found in each and every blossom. The bees sure think these flowers are worth their time. Where did that sugar come from? The new leaves didn't produce it because they aren't big enough to do much photosynthesizing. This early in the spring, leaves are probably using more energy to grow than they are contributing to the tree's regular functions. Fruit trees spend an entire growing season preparing for spring. The energy used to develop flowers full of nectar in the spring was stored in the bark and roots of the tree during the previous summer.

When you prune a fruit tree that is in full bloom, your tree has already spent the energy reserves that were allocated to those branches for flowers and new leaves. Will that stress or kill your tree if you prune those blooming branches out? No, but maybe some of that energy could have been redirected to new growth and fruit production if the pruning had been done earlier in the year.

Now, lets discuss the second thing to consider when pruning your fruit trees late. New blossoms and leaves are extremely fragile. If you as much as bump your tree when it's blooming, you will inevitably knock off some of the flowers. When pruning fruit trees that are in full bloom, you will find the ground littered with pedals and flowers, and your tree's ability to develop fruit on those flowers will have been compromised.

So, pruning fruit trees that are in full bloom will remove some of the energy stores from your tree and damage blossoms, but don't let me scare you from pruning your tree this year, because the benefits to pruning a fruit tree that is in full bloom greatly outweigh the drawbacks.

Fruit trees need pruned every year, which allows for more sunlight to penetrate the canopy, increases fruit production, and significantly reduces pest pressure on your fruit trees. Without enough sunlight, fruit will prematurely drop from your fruit tree. Without yearly pruning, your fruit tree will grow more vegetative branches and fewer fruiting branches. If diseased branches remain year after year, contagious diseases can spread throughout your tree and weaken or even kill your tree.

Even after pruning in the spring, it is important to thin fruit to reduce the burden on your tree. When you knock blossoms off your fruit tree while pruning, you are in a way, thinning the fruit before the fruit sets. It is a common practice to remove blossoms on young fruit trees with the intent of allowing your trees to put more energy into root growth instead of fruit production. Because this is a common practice among gardeners, it stands to reason that knocking off blossoms when you prune will not cause irreparable damage. 

So, can fruit tree's be pruned when they are blooming? Yes! Hurry and get it done or you will be typing, "Can fruit tree's be pruned after the fruit has set?" in your web browser.

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