Posted by Darren Wingham on May 10, 2011, 4:35 pm
Hello,
I have very limited gardening experience.....
We moved into this property which had a large, well tended garden, by a
retired couple.
It had this lovely Plumb Tree which produced a huge harvest each year.
However, I had not pruned it for 3 years and branches had grown too
large and the plumbs were threatening to bring them down.
I decided to prune it back last Autumn, however, I think I may have been
too harsh. Now it has many of sprouts from the branches and, not
surprisingly, has produced little fruit. I am told that it has been
"shocked" and is furiously growing branches. I am now afraid to take off
the sprouting shoots in case it makes the situation worse!
Question is, how do I bring this under control to a manageable sized
tree that will produce fruit once again?
Many thanks!
Darren.
--
Darren Wingham
Posted by Brooklyn1 on May 10, 2011, 7:11 pm
Darren Wingham wrote:
>I have very limited gardening experience.....
>We moved into this property which had a large, well tended garden, by a
>retired couple.
>It had this lovely Plumb Tree which produced a huge harvest each year.
>However, I had not pruned it for 3 years and branches had grown too
>large and the plumbs were threatening to bring them down.
Must be one of those rare plumb bob trees... be alert to plumber's
crack.
Posted by Higgs Boson on May 10, 2011, 7:12 pm
On May 10, 1:35 pm, Darren Wingham <darren@realpeoplephotography-DOT-
co-dot-uk> wrote:
> Hello,
> I have very limited gardening experience.....
> We moved into this property which had a large, well tended garden, by a
> retired couple.
> It had this lovely Plumb Tree which produced a huge harvest each year.
> However, I had not pruned it for 3 years and branches had grown too
> large and the plumbs were threatening to bring them down.
> I decided to prune it back last Autumn, however, I think I may have been
> too harsh. Now it has many of sprouts from the branches and, not
> surprisingly, has produced little fruit. I am told that it has been
> "shocked" and is furiously growing branches. I am now afraid to take off
> the sprouting shoots in case it makes the situation worse!
> Question is, how do I bring this under control to a manageable sized
> tree that will produce fruit once again?
> Many thanks!
> Darren.
> --
> Darren Wingham
Depending how you pruned the "plumbs" (aka plums). You needed to
prune the OLD wood, not the new. If you really want action out of
this "plumb" tree in future, look up correct pruning technique on the
Web, and learn to recognize what should come and out what shouldn't.
Even better: Spring for a professional to come in and rectify the
situation, and have him/her teach you proper technique in the process.
Would be $ well spent.
HB
Posted by Darren Wingham on May 11, 2011, 4:08 am
Great, thanks for the advice.
You see I've had so little to do with this fruit, up until now, I even
get the spelling wrong!!
Any more tips on plum tree care greatly appreciated.
Darren.
Bob F;920860 Wrote:
> Darren Wingham wrote:-
> Hello,
>
> I have very limited gardening experience.....
>
> We moved into this property which had a large, well tended garden, by
> a retired couple.
>
> It had this lovely Plumb Tree which produced a huge harvest each year.
> However, I had not pruned it for 3 years and branches had grown too
> large and the plumbs were threatening to bring them down.
>
> I decided to prune it back last Autumn, however, I think I may have
> been too harsh. Now it has many of sprouts from the branches and, not
> surprisingly, has produced little fruit. I am told that it has been
> "shocked" and is furiously growing branches. I am now afraid to take
> off the sprouting shoots in case it makes the situation worse!
>
> Question is, how do I bring this under control to a manageable sized
> tree that will produce fruit once again?
> -
>
> Heavy pruning of plums can decrease fruit production for a year. You can
> safely
> remove unwanted shoots without affecting the future production as long
> as you
> leave the right fruiting branches. For instance, removing vertical
> "water
> shoots" will help get sun to the ripening fruit and the desired fruiting
>
> branches.
--
Darren Wingham
Posted by David E. Ross on May 11, 2011, 11:35 am
On 5/11/11 1:08 AM, Darren Wingham wrote:
> Great, thanks for the advice.
>
> You see I've had so little to do with this fruit, up until now, I even
> get the spelling wrong!!
>
> Any more tips on plum tree care greatly appreciated.
>
> Darren.
>
Now that everyhone has had a good laugh, you need to tell us where the
tree is. That is, what is your climate, which determines when you
should prune the tree.
--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at <http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary>
XML site map
>We moved into this property which had a large, well tended garden, by a
>retired couple.
>It had this lovely Plumb Tree which produced a huge harvest each year.
>However, I had not pruned it for 3 years and branches had grown too
>large and the plumbs were threatening to bring them down.