Pruning a plum tree

Hi folks, I need some help here regarding my plum tree.

I planted it 4 or 5 years ago and it never produced any fruit until this year so unfortunately it was just left to grow and the photo is the result.

I think I read somewhere that a plum tree should be cut back until it resembles a champagne glass, three uprights if that makes sense.

Could someone advice me on the best way to deal with this one as it's sort of out of control?

Should I cut away that big thick center part to begin with and then try and shape it from there?

Many thanks for any help. I'm 71 and just getting into growing fruit trees. I have this plum tree, a black cherry tree, an apple tree which is growing well and a pear tree which has also just produced fruit for the first time this year. They were all planted at the same time 4 or 5 years ago.

Hi Alex,
That is a nice mess you have there. Your own proposal, to clear the center and make a vase shaped stucture with 3 main branches is a good idea.
However, the devil is in the details:
What you dont want, is the kind of crowded branches all growing from the same point of the trunk. Water can now run into the bottom of your champagne glass and start rotting the trunk. So in selecting your 3 structural branches, I would look for options to get rid of standing water.
Your branches are pretty vertical. The most fruit will grow on horizontal branches. If it were my tree, I might cut the branches head heigth, to stimulate new branches that grow more horizontal.
Last but not least: don't cut more than one third from your tree at once. If possible, spread it over a couple of years to reduce the thick branches to 3. In summer, the tree will react to this kind of heavy pruning, with new growth. Remove some of the growth immediately with your thumbnail in order to create space between branches. Cut the remaing growth back to a few centimeters. This will stimulate fruiting. For heavily pruned trees, you should do this all summer long.

(By the way, it looks like someone once cut this trunk when it was already verry thick. If it was you, try to avoid that in the future. If you have to, than keep an eye on the tree's reaction and remove most of the branches before they become a problem like you have).

Good luck with your tree!

Many thanks for this useful reply.

No this has never been cut at any time. I bought them all as bare root trees and the only cutting was top branches.

Alex

Congratulations on achieving plums (and pears!)

Hmm, I can see that's going to be tricky - not least to avoid damaging the branches you want to keep. I've heard that cherries and plums are better pruned in early summer when they are in active growth, but I don't think that applies to the remedial pruning you need here. I think you'll need to prune back the smaller branches enough to get access to the centre, but I'm worried that you'll end up with a big wound that will be difficult for the tree to heal and as Nynke suggested will lead to a weak crotch.

I’d wait until summer after the tree has finished fruiting and cut the large centre branch on an angle to reduce water pooling in the centre of the tree.

Summer pruning reduces the vigour and there ought to be fewer water shoots than when pruned in winter.  

Nevertheless, rub out all new shoots that grow from the stump of the pruned branches.

General rule of thumb is to prune no more than 30% at a time, and to use winter pruning to control shape, summer pruning to control vigour.

The goal is to avoid crossing branches, too many branches emanating from one spot, upright branches, branches facing down, and branches facing into the centre. Think vase shaped with 3-5 main branches, equally spaced.

It took several years for the plum to get to that shape, I would expect it to take several years to fix it. I'd start in late winter with any diseased or damaged branches. Stop, walk away, come back another day with fresh eyes, do a bit more, working on too close branches. Then summer prune to keep the size in check, and go back next winter.

Try to remove branches to the branch collar, rather than leaving a stub that will resprout and leave mess next year, and tip back branches you want to shorten to a bud in the direction you want the branch to continue growing next season.

Many thanks for the reply. Very helpful.

Megan Palmer wrote:I’d wait until summer after the tree has finished fruiting and cut the large centre branch on an angle to reduce water pooling in the centre of the tree.

Summer pruning reduces the vigour and there ought to be fewer water shoots than when pruned in winter.  

Nevertheless, rub out all new shoots that grow from the stump of the pruned branches.

Thanks for that. Yeah I had already decided to cut that big center at an angle to allow the water to run off and probably seal it with something as well.

Alex