Hello - have you pruned your plum trees yet?? If not - you need to get your skates on - the end of September is the latest date you can safely prune them - before winter - and still give them time to heal up the cuts.
The problem with pruning any stone fruit - and I include cherries,greengages and damsons in this - is that their wood is soft - and if pruned in winter when the sap is not actively flowing - they cannot repel infection - this will lead to the dreaded Silver Leaf Disease or Bacterial Canker getting in - and that will eventually prove terminal for any tree.
So get them done now - this weekend if poss - do bear in mind though that they do not require spur pruning like apples and pears - all that is usually necessary is to remove one or two larger branches to increase air-circulation - and help remove Brown Rot (See My earlier post on that) - and improve fruit size. The easiest and best rule with these is - to start obviously remove any broken branches - and my Victoria had broken several this year with the heavy crop - also anything that is old and thin is best taken out - other than that - take out crossing stuff - and keep the centre open - I tend to do about 8 cuts on my tree at the most.
Talking about pruning - our PRUNING COURSES are filling up fast - if you intend to come and spend a morning with Graeme and myself learning about fruit tree pruning or shrub pruning - you need to book with the office quickly - places are limited - the dates are NOVEMBER 10TH OR 18TH - this is also open to RHS members - so there will be no possibility of just turning up on the day!!!
If you have never been on a course - and are not sure about it - do come along - it is GREAT FUN - and you will learn a lot - we are very FRIENDLY PEOPLE here you know - yes really!!
UNTIL NEXT TIME,
RICHARD
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