Pruning Edible Plants

Bernie Dinter, Horticulturist and owner of Dinter Nursery

Edible plants in your landscape can produce an abundant supply of food. To keep your plants healthy and productive, some basic pruning must be done in late Winter before they leaf out. The goal is to create an open structure that admits light and permits air circulation to reduce disease. This principle applies to everything from fruit trees to blueberries to grapes.

First step is to remove the ‘3 D’s’ or dead, diseased, and damaged wood. Check for live wood by scratching the bark to see if it is green and moist under the bark. Cut back to a healthy bud or lateral branch. Then remove crossing branches and those growing towards the centre. Keep the height down by removing vertical branches at their origin or cutting back to a lateral shoot or to an outward facing bud. This will create a plant with branches gently radiating up and away from the centre. Finally look at last year’s growth on the ends of the branches and head back by about 1/3 to an outward facing bud. This last bud will grow into an outward growing shoot. The buds below will produce lateral branches, creating a fuller plant. Next year some of the extra lateral branches can be removed. Most fruit trees including apple, pear, plum and cherry produce short stubby branches with a swollen bud. These are fruit spurs with flower buds, when pollinated, will swell into fruit. Look out for these to anticipate how much fruit to expect. Peaches are different and fruit only on last season’s wood.

Blueberries need a light annual pruning improve air circulation and remove the older, less productive wood. Grapes and kiwi only fruit off last years wood and are pruned hard.

Every plant has its individual pruning requirements that cannot be covered in a short article but having an understanding of what to achieve will get you started.

Plant Your Edible Landscape

Bare root fruit trees are available through to the end of March.

We will be fully stocked with fruit trees after the middle of February Small fruits such as blueberries, grapes, raspberries and many others are available year round in pots. New stock arrives weekly. Plant now to start your edible garden. Yields increase every year as the plants grow larger. We carry a wide range of edible plants with more coming in as the season progresses. Check our website for updates. Serving local gardeners since 1973 www.dinternursery.ca 250 748-2023

5km South of Duncan on Hwy 1

New logo and branding but still owned by the Dinter family.