BYOC and heading cuts

General Fruit Growing
1

So a little background, I was a serial over pruner. Most of my cuts were heading cuts, which was probably responsible for my lack of flower and fruit production (always had a lot of vegetative growth). I didn’t know how heading vs. thinning cuts affected fruit production until coming onto this forum.

My trees are getting to the point where they are the exact height I want them, which is not having to use a ladder to grab the fruit. I’ve had a ton of growth on my pluots/plum trees this spring and summer. In the past I would have used a heading cut on the new growth to keep it at the height I want but I would like the new growth to produce flowers and fruit as a lot of the new growth are grafts I need as pollenizers. So I am not sure how to proceed with the pruning or do I just let it go?

In the picture, the tallest branches are from a Santa Rosa plum graft that I need for my pluots. The tree is about 7 feet tall but that graft goes up to 11-12 feet. The graft grew probably 5 or 6 feet this spring/summer and I had pruned it in June.

2

I guess it partly may depend on your choice of what your tree is to look like.I have a Flavor Supreme,to which was grafted several other varieties last Spring.Some grew more vigorously and those were pruned to match somewhat,the growth of the other branches.At the heading cut,there was usually a burst of more laterals,which sometimes needed another cut.A lot of times that long branching is only vegetative and can be taken away. Brady

3

I head my plums and pluots to control height all the time. It doesn’t hurt fruiting. But if you can cut to an outward growing branch. With enough chilling mine always fruit.

You might want to head those back just to stiffen them up and cause them to branch lower. They’ll branch better if you do that next spring. The portion not cut off should flower and fruit.