Pruning mature cherry tree

[billyt]

Hi.

It's been one of those years where the garden has been slightly neglected due to other major issues.

Anyway. We have a mature cherry tree which yields 40+ kg of cherries every year. I can see it is getting out of control so needs a bit of TLC.

All the leaves have now fallen off, is it too late for some slight pruning? I don't want to damage it, so if too late I'll do it next year.

Cherries are susceptible to, I think it’s silver leaf disease, so are best pruned in spring when there’s a good upward flow of sap to flush out wounds. Don’t prune in winter.

Thanks.

I think I did realise I'd left it too late.

Roll on spring

Yes, wrong timing due to the prevalence of diseases. The tree isn't in growth so can't heal the cuts itself, which lets nasties get a hold. The best time of year is immediately after harvesting the cherries.

Another reason to not do it now is that you'd cut off a lot of next year's dormant flower buds and you'd lose a crop.