I have a 9 year old apricot tree that has never been pruned. I'm planning to heavy prune it and remove 90% of its branches. It is also infected with shot hole disease. Since last fall, I've been treating it with fungicide and applying it only to branches that won't be removed.

I read that it's best to prune an apricot tree while it's blooming, reason being that it is better able to fight off infections and heal faster.

I live in Montreal. We had a colder than usual spring, so the buds haven't opened up yet. The next three days will be dry. It's usually always dry/wet here. I also would like to have this done and get over it.

Question is: Should I wait or should I do it when it's blooming?