Pruning advice

[Naimul]

Hi guys,

i recently acquired a flowering apricot and this would be my first flowering tree. I have been looking around for care instructions and so on, and what i have come across is that in terms of pruning its not quite the same as other trees. i found a post by someone else who gave a brief overview on how to go about pruning so that branches don't die back and so on, but i am still a little confused as to how to go about doing it properly. i don't want any branches to die. So this is a bit of a request for anyone else out there who have a flowering apricot (or any other prunus, i imagine the pruning technique would be the same/similar) and also the time if they could take pictures and document the process. It would be greatly appreciated and i am sure it would help others out there with the same tree.

thanks,

Naimul

[Paulneill]

I had the same concern with my red leaf flowering plum last year,
I had to remove one of the 2 large trunks as I didn't want it to die back down the trunk. It was healthy and I cut it back at the end of winter before any bud swell. I left a stub and waited for it to grow strongly before tidying up the wound late spring.
It didnt die back at all and is healing over nicely.

[kcpoole]

Like all deciduous trees, Leave a longer stub as Paul suggests and let it die back to the bud.

Sounds like a great Howto for the wiki if someone wants to doco it

Ken

[Naimul]

what about trimming branches. i cant seem to find that other post, but the person was explaining something about always cutting back to a leaf bud, not a flower bud, and not cutting too many buds off, which would keep the branch growing or something?

thanks kcpoole and paulneill for the replies

[63pmp]

Apricots will have one or two dormant buds at the base of each branch. If it is weak branch, these buds may not shoot if the stem is cut back to them, meaning the branch dies back to the trunk. Leaf buds start to swell around flowering time, they are more pointy then flower buds, which are roundish. Wait till after flowering and cut stems back back to one or two active buds, which are much larger then dormant buds. Prune growing shoots back to two leaves in early summer (unless it's a sacrifice branch) and this will help activate the dormant buds for next spring.

I repot just as flowers are dying off, soon after this buds will start to move.

Paul

[Naimul]

ahh thanks Paul, that is pretty much what i was after. Cannot wait for mine to flower now