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Ask a Gardening QuestionGardening Questions & Answers: How to garden questionsPeach Tree Pruning

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Peach Tree Pruning

#1 · 2nd May 2025, 8:50 am

Hi. This is my first Post to you

My Peach tree is now in its 2nd year and is growing well. I have not had any blossom on it but

would like to know how to prune it. If the pictures are good enough my main concern is what to do with shoots pointing outwards from the 2 main side branches and the ones on the top of the main branch.

Peach 1

Thank you

#2 · 5th May 2025, 9:02 am

Hi @humberboy

Thats a beautiful fan-trained Peach you have there, and you're right to ask for some assistance.

Fan-trained fruit trees are pruned and trained onto canes to create a flat yet wide shape, great for planting against walls and saving space. However, fan-trained fruit trees do need careful pruning to keep their shape.

With all Prunus trees, such as peaches, cherries and plums, we prune in late summer after they have fruited and never in winter due to silverleaf disease.

All pruning aims to cut back excess growth to focus the tree's efforts on flowers or fruit. By making pruning cuts on your peach tree, you're directing growth further back down the plant for flowers and then fruit. Looking at your picture, I would cut off 3 inches of each of those shoots equally across the tree. Any shoots growing inwards or in the wrong direction to the canes take way back to the main trunk to help keep the fan shape. Do this in August and it will start to form its true fan shape for next year.

My cherry pruning guide below will help demonstrate the cuts and how to do that.