Pruning Tips for the Fruit-Bearers 🍏

Amongst the elderberries! You may know how vigorous they are, which makes them perfect for pruning practice. 

This past Sunday, we had the pleasure of joining Ry’s Table at their homestead for a fruit tree pruning workshop. We all had a grand time sharing tips, ideas, queries, and delicious snacks from Ry! Today we’ll touch on some the basic tips we went over for your fruit-bearing plants.

Blueberries are one of our favorites. Native, resilient, and beautiful!

Blackberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, Elderberries…

The first few plants we discussed in the workshop were the cane-bearers. While cane is not the technical term for the stems of woody shrubs like blueberries and elderberries, they are often pruned in a similar regenerative style to true cane-bearing brambles. A common denominator among all of these plants is that their canes tend to lose fruiting vigor or die off anywhere from two to five years. As a result, farmers and gardeners seeking the highest possible yield prune in a way that may appear aggressive on an annual basis.

• Blueberry – Canes lose fruiting vigor after 4-6 years, though decline may start around year 3-4. A good yield comes from maintaining a mix of one- to four-year-old canes. Pruning removes the oldest, least productive canes.
• Elderberry – Canes typically stay productive for 3-5 years, with best fruiting on two- to three-year-old wood. Older canes are pruned to encourage new shoots.
• Blackberry & Raspberry – It’s good to know the variety of your berry plant. Some varieties fruit on primocanes, or in other words, the season’s new growth. Most fruit on floricanes, or the previous year’s growth. After fruiting, canes will begin to die off, encouraging new cane growth. Prune out those spent canes and be aware of floricanes that are up next to fruit out.

For some of you, letting your canes grow wild and free may be your preference. This is totally fine. Maybe you want a blueberry bush with stems left to mature to their maximum height (they reach 15 feet!). Or maybe you want a bushy bramble of blackberries for the critters… These pruning tips prioritize human harvesting but that isn’t always the goal.

Dave tackling a pear tree!

Apple, Pear, Peach, Plum…

The next group of plants we discussed in the workshop were fruit trees. Pruning fruit trees balances sunlight penetration, airflow, and canopy shape to maximize health, harvesting-ease, and fruit production. If left unpruned, fruit trees become crowded which can reduce fruit quality and yield while increasing disease risk. The three most common pruning styles are open center, modified central leader, and central leader, each suited to different tree species.

• Open Center (Vase-Shaped) - This style removes the central leader early on, creating a tree with three to five main scaffolds. When matured, the scaffold branches form an open, bowl-like structure. This maximizes sunlight and airflow, which is especially beneficial for stone fruits like peach and nectarine that are prone to disease.
• Modified Central Leader - A balance between open center and central leader, this method keeps a dominant central trunk while allowing multiple strong lateral branches. It works well for trees that naturally want to grow tall but benefit from some spreading to improve fruit access and sunlight distribution. You’ll see this often with trees like pears and apples.
• Central Leader - This style maintains a single, dominant trunk with evenly spaced lateral branches forming a pyramidal shape. It’s common for trees that already have a robust vertical-growing structure, particularly nut trees and some apples and pears. This pruning style is good for folks that may not be overly-concerned with harvesting and want the tree to grow akin to its natural tendencies.

Open Center pruning is sometimes labeled as “open hand” with the 3-5ish scaffold branches representing fingers. 

Whether you’re cutting out old canes, shaping a young tree, or making room for the sunlight to do its thing, every prune can be a step toward a healthier, more productive plant. And remember, plants are forgiving. A pruning mistake is not the end of the world… OR the plant. So, don’t think you have to be an expert. Do some research on your particular plants and get out there. Your plants will thank you—probably with fruit!