How to Prune Apricot Trees (Tips From an Arborist)

By Guest Author Tim Spence.

Understanding how to prune apricot trees correctly can seem confusing at first, but with the right knowledge, it becomes quite simple. Pruning your apricot trees not only enhances their appearance, it also promotes the health of the tree.

In this guide, I’ll share when, why and how to prune your apricot trees.

Why Prune Apricot Trees?

Pruning apricot trees is beneficial in many ways. Removing unneeded branches helps to open up pathways for light and air to penetrate all areas of the canopy. Pruning also removes dead wood or weak branches that compete with the primary scaffold structure. Regular tree pruning strengthens a fruit tree’s structure, rejuvenates it, encourages new growth, improves air circulation around the foliage and fruit, and keeps fruit production optimal.

Which Tools to Use for Pruning

Hand Pruner

When it comes to pruning, a ladder and hand pruners can do a lot of the pruning work. While investing in a good quality hand pruner is a smart move, you don’t necessarily need to splurge on the most expensive one. Instead, look for a hand pruner that has easily replaceable parts in case of wear and tear, a comfortable grip for prolonged use, and sharp blades that can handle reasonably sized branches.

Lopper or Pruning Saw

If you think a branch may be a bit too big for your hand pruners, then use a lopper or pruning saw instead. Loppers are great for reaching those hard-to-access areas and thicker branches. It’s crucial to ensure your pruning is done with clean cuts, so choose the proper tool for the branch size.

When to Prune Apricot Trees

Removing diseased or unwanted branches can be done at any time of the year. However, plants react differently to pruning depending on the stage of their growing season.

Traditionally, the ideal time to prune fruit trees is during the dormant period in late winter or early spring before the flower buds swell. Pruning the trees in a dormant stage maximizes growth and minimizes the risk of pest or infection problems. However, some orchardists or arborists like to prune in spring when trees are in bloom, as it’s easier to identify any branches that didn’t survive winter. Late summer pruning slows a tree’s growth down, which may be desirable if you want to keep your apricot tree small.

Pruning Young vs Mature Apricot Trees

For the first four or five years of an Apricot tree’s growth, its development is very rapid; therefore, training the growth pattern of young trees is important. Beginning pruning early helps your apricot tree to form a strong, desirable structure.

In order to achieve a sturdy structure, remove any sick or dead branches. After that, select and maintain three to five main scaffold limbs. These will be the main branches as your tree continues to grow in the subsequent years. The scaffold branches should be spaced about 18 to 25 inches apart, distributed evenly, and should grow outward at a 45-60 degree angle from the main trunk.

Older trees, if they’ve been pruned correctly in their formative years, may require a bit less maintenance as they age. This is because the growth rates tend to slow down as a tree matures. When the tree canopy gets overcrowded, you can thin out the new shoots, but a strong structure should already be established from earlier pruning cycles.

How to Prune an Apricot Tree (Step by Step)

1. Remove root suckers growing at the base of the tree.
2. Cut out dead, broken or visibly diseased limbs.
3. Remove drooping lower branches. These limbs generally produce poor-quality fruit and may interfere with the maintenance of the area under the tree.
4. If limbs cross over and compete with one another, remove the less desirable competing limb to avoid crossing of limbs and bruised fruit.
5. Water sprouts growing off the tops of limbs should be removed. They are slow to bear fruit and can shade out more desirable fruiting wood.
6. Once the larger structural cuts have been made to shape the tree, thin out the smaller limbs to encourage the production of higher-quality fruit.

Pro Pruning Tips

• When removing large branches, it’s advisable to make the first cut further out from where it joins the stem (generally referred to as the 3-cut method). This reduces the limb’s weight and eliminates the likelihood of the bark tearing along the stem.

• The final pruning cut should be made just outside of the branch collar. The branch collar contains unique physical and chemical properties, which help the pruning wounds defend against decay spreading into the tree trunk and heal quicker.

• Avoid removing more than 20-30% of the live foliage in one pruning cycle.

What is Fruit Thinning?

Fruit thinning might seem counterintuitive. After all, why would you want to reduce your long-awaited harvest? But there are many reasons why thinning your fruit is a good idea.

The riper apricots get, the heavier they become. Thinning can help to even out the weight and prevent limbs from breaking. Also, each fruit competes for available resources. Thinning out excess fruit ensures that the remaining fruit has enough vital nutrients to reach its full size and ripeness.

So there you have it., the basics of how to prune apricot trees.

Author’s Bio: Tim Spence is an ISA-certified arborist and founder of Arborist Halifax. He runs a small tree care business in Canada.