I was always taught to prune my roses on President's Day weekend, and fruit trees a week before that. Thought since it was nice I'd start pruning my apple trees now. My concern is that if I prune now and we get a hard freeze later would it damage any fruit spurs? I remember 4-5 years ago getting snow when my Greenstein tree actually had blooms on it. I was surprised it didn't do much damage.
Too early? What are other people's thought/advice? I only have 5 apple trees on dwarf rootstock.
Eric
If that is Gresham, OR it doesn't get very cold for apples, which bloom later than most of the other temperate fruits we grow.
I also don't see the connection between winter pruning and bud damage. Are you concerned that pruning will induce early wake up? or that heading limbs will allow the remaining spurs to get colder, or be more susceptible to cold?
Ume plum are particularly early blooming, buds have been swelling for a month. Mid February to Mid March had been my traditional blossom time, although it's creeped earlier substantially over the last few years.
Vigorous growth is a result of my heavy dormant season pruning. And the fact that I'm generally missing the good window in late summer of early mid fall pruning; so dormant season pruning it is, heavy as I said, removing the branches, limbs material all destined to receive the banked storage of carbs, nutrition, solar energy- however you choose to speak of it, plus al the genetically mandated expected new growth, vigorous or shy, vigorous in this case in lieu of 'summer' pruning .......plum Ume..... can definitely contribute to an early push. They've been swelling the buds. Just at the beginning of this local dry spell I thought to prune, hoping to limit mechanical bud damage with cut off material removal and my rummaging around in there, and the return of rain as I imagine. (Similar to last year, but there's more to that story.) Perhaps with the cold the sap will recede and slow down the push a bit.
I don't believe I've noticed pruning/cold damage of fruiting spurs on apple or pears. I suspect a hardiness factor in play. I will continue to prune pome fruits now-ish.
I might pay attention to protecting the trunk though, where it may become exposed to sunlight in the pruning process. Cold and warm cycles might allow for some damage, splitting. Painting light colored watered down latex or whitewash or wrap if it looks to be a need.
I prune year round. I am reluctant to prune something vulnerable to disease, like stone fruit, in a warmer period of the year when it's raining. I agree that a lot of the advice to not prune before the winter is over is for places like Minnesota and Michigan, where it gets really cold. I usually prune cherries in the summer, although I just took off some scions from my Surefire pie cherry tree. To me, that is not major pruning, so it's a different situation. I think this dry spell in the winter is a great opportunity to get a lot of pruning done is a low disease and weather pressure situation.
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