by Ruth de Jauregui, Demand Media


Pruning old wood encourages vigorous fruiting branches to develop.

Plucking a sun-warmed ripe, juicy peach and eating it, straight from the tree is the highlight of summer living. Native to China, the peach (Prunus persica) is grown across North America, particularly in the western and the southern states. Hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 to 9, peaches are a backyard favorite among home gardeners. While the fruit is well worth the effort, keeping the peach tree healthy requires a commitment to annual late winter pruning. Peaches fruit on 1-year-old branches; removing old wood and shaping the tree is essential to continued fruit production.

1

Put on long sleeves, long pants, shoes, gloves and safety glasses before pruning the peach tree. Avoid pruning on wet days, fungi release spores when the weather is damp and the open wounds are susceptible to infection.

2

Stand back and look at the tree before you begin pruning. Generally, peach trees are pruned into a vase-shape, much like an open hand facing up, with fingers extended.

3

Remove any leaves or branches growing below the tree's graft. These suckers take nutrients and water from the desirable top portion of the tree.

4

Prune any dead or broken branches, using anvil pruners for 5/8-inch or smaller branches and loppers for branches up to 2 1/2 inches. Use the pole pruner for upper branches; avoid climbing on ladders to prune.

5

Remove any waterspouts from the interior of the tree. Waterspouts are fast-growing, non-productive branches that grow straight up from the main branches that form the framework of the tree.

6

Cut back interior branches to 1/4 inch above outward and upward facing buds. A new branch sprouts from the bud; consider the shape of the tree before removing branches.

7

Work your way around the tree, removing between one-third and one-half of each branch. Remove up to two-thirds of extremely long branches. Peaches grow on last year's branches; pruning encourages new fruiting branches to develop.

8

Rake up and remove all the leaves, twigs and old mulch under the tree. Replace it with 4-inch layer of fresh mulch, pulled 6 inches away from the tree's trunk. Pests and fungal diseases often overwinter in dead leaves and litter under trees.