yes but usually its in July when you prune

Pruning in June should have a greater dwarfing affect than the traditional summer pruning time which in NY is from mid-July to mid-Aug. The later date is so you only need do it once, at least for apples and pears as there isn't so much regrowth when you prune at the later date.

I posted already about pruning during summer, to reduce new growth. I got two replies saying yes this works. I wonder why most manuals suggest the usual dormant pruning time? Also,,what are the downsides,,of pruning in summer? I have had problems with alot of woody growth on some apple trees, pruning in March, that is why I am contemplating the summer prune.

commercial growers often prune in the winter because that is when the labor force is looking for something to do....professional growers and pruners have more time during this season and get busy picking peaches or apricots or some such in July or August. So, professionals often prefer winter pruning and this is what has helped to popularize this.

Sometimes, too, growers want to stimulate new growth on their fruit trees, and there is more new one-year growth when you prune in the winter. So, for SOME pruning, winter pruning is preferred.

I personally like to prune in the winter because you can see the structure of the tree much more easily and you can get into the tree more easily.

Having said all that, I am pleased to see that a "re-education" process is going on with the homeowner now where many of us are dis-abusing people of the myth that they have to prune in the winter. Not only does one not have to prune in the winter but in terms of de-invigorating the tree and reducing sucker growth the preferred time to prune is in the summer months.....most homeowners should focus most of their pruning efforts in the summer, especially if they have an over-vigorous tree that is not on a dwarfing rootstock and which they wish to hold down to an acceptable height.

Homeowner discretion is okay here....and to some extent, you can generally prune in the winter, spring or summer as you feel like it though.....so don't sweat it one way or another, especially if you are in a moderate zone.

I have a question of my own here, though.....We know that fruit trees, especially apples and pears, can withstand cold temperatures after having been pruned, even sub-zero temperatures, but my question is does it hurt the tree any to prune in below freezing (below 32 degree) temperatures if the tree has been in below freezing weather for a few days where the temp never got above 32 degrees fahrenheit? In other words, I know it is okay to prune apple and pear trees now in most places and not worry if it gets cold later, but is it advisable to prune in a place like, say northern Idaho, in the middle of a freezing period?

Donnie, I prune from mid-Dec until the first week of April here from Z5 to Z6. I've never suffered any tissue damage from extreme cold shortly after pruning- but in Dec. and January I'm mostly pruning very old apple trees- trees enter deepest dormancy in late Jan, I've read in reliable sources. I'm also told that old apple trees tend to be much tougher than younger ones.

I have read that damage from pruning cuts occurs when extreme cold- for apples, below -20 F, occurs within 2 weeks of pruning. For old apples, make that -25 and there is also considerable variation in cold hardiness clone to clone.

I wouldn't even hesitate to prune anything if the trees are dormant in temps above 0 F. Obviously they better be pretty dormant as temps get below about 25 whether you're pruning or not.

I don't manage most of the orchards I'm handling with summer pruning only and that approach is used mostly for either dwarfing rootstocks or very closely planted fruit trees in commercial production. In home and estate orchards espaliers have always been primarily pruned in mid-summer.

The only authority I've seen that recommends summer pruning only has an interest in selling lots of fruit trees and the approach is about planting trees very close. I do manage a few orchards this way, however, and for home production it seems fine even for well spaced, large trees.

It's often recommended to prune peaches when they're just beginning to grow in areas where there is canker.

Was reading on Walter Reeves site that Apples and Pears should be pruned in February and Peaches in March. Seems a little late here. We get tempertures in the high 70's by then sometimes. Will it hurt to prune them now?

I would ignore all advice from Walter Reeves if you are accurate in communicating his statements and see above posts.

In answer to your question, no.

Advice without explanation can do more harm than good.

What zone are you in, "gagreenthumb" that it would get in the 70s in late Feb to March? It sounds like you can prune anytime....sounds pretty moderate to me.

I worry sometimes that I am either talking "too technical" or not technical enough on these forums.....for example, a person might get too confused trying to figure it all out as to when the absolute maximum best time to prune is and then miss the joy of actually doing the pruning when he feels like it.

At the risk of "dumbing down" everything, I have heard a couple people say this: "When is the best time to prune? When the pruning loppers are sharp !!......that is the best time to prune."

For a more technically desired result, or in extreme weather conditions or for the more experienced gardeners who help to inform us on this forum , a more complicated answer may be in order....but my suspicion is that for most people in most zones, the answer often is just go out there and prune when you and the tree feel like it.

By the way, end of 2010 tribute: thanks to everyone who keeps this forum going....It is one of the few forums where I can learn a fair amount about this subject every day I choose to read this forum.

donnieappleseed I'm in zone 8 (Middle Georgia). It was 68 today and will be 70 tomorrow, but we will fall back into the 20's for nighttime temperatures again next week. By the middle of March we can usually expect consistant low 70's. Although we have had snow in March too. Weird stuff

I was under the impression that the trees needed X number of frost days before pruning, but after reading here I feel safe shaping things up.