FREE online courses on Vegetable Gardening - Pruning - Pruning Young Trees

 

With younger trees, the goal of pruning is to help it develop a true leader branch, a main stem growing straight up that defines the tree's vertical structure.

 

Your task then is to define the strongest, most vertical of the branches and head back (cut short) any others that threaten to sap the leader's food and energy.

 

On main branches other than the leader branch, you'll also want to define the main growth, and head back the smaller branches growing off those.