Most Fruit Trees Can Wait Until Spring To Be Pruned, Except These Two - Tasting Table

"During the colder months, the garden is resting, and we are slowly making our way through the hearty recipes for cozy winter weekends. We might be dreaming up garden plans for the spring and pre-ordering the first seeds, but otherwise our green thumbs are as dormant as the soil. Still, if you have two particular fruit trees growing in your backyard orchard, winter is the ideal time to prune them."

"Winter is a great time to prune apples and pears because the tree itself is dormant. You don't have to wade through the leaves or risk damaging the tree that's actively producing a lot of sap. It's also much easier to spot branches that are already damaged or growing in an undesired direction, eliminating them before the tree invests more energy into growing them."

During winter the garden is dormant, and apple and pear trees benefit from pruning while dormant. Pruning crowded branches improves light penetration and increases future fruit production. Winter pruning is easier because trees lack leaves and sap flow, making damaged or misdirected branches simpler to identify and remove before the tree invests energy into them. Most other fruit trees should not be pruned in winter because pruning wounds need healing capacity and trees are more vulnerable to cold-season fungal infections. Apples and pears are less susceptible to those winter fungal risks but are more likely to catch diseases during warm months.

Read at Tasting Table