wrong pruning of plum tree

stewie1098

Unfortunately I prunned by plum tree hard in winter, and now its looking very weak- half dozed leaves, two plums. Should I prune further- feed, of dig up and plan another- its three years old (still alive- green under bark)- does it have disease ?

DaftyDuck

It'd help if you could post a few pictures, but it's not all gloom if it has fruit, even if only two. I'd certainly not prune it much further, although I might snip off just the tips of any extra-long branches that may grow. I might remove those two plums so the tree can conserve its energy, and I'd give it a good dose of organic fertiliser - poultry manure is available in the garden shed superstores... Growmore granules would do, but not quite as good - and I'd keep it well-watered if there's summer drought.

I'd give it a chance and, as you now know, prune in the growing season.

Edit: I'd probably leave those plums... they'll take so little from the tree, and they'd cheer me up that it would all be OK next year...

Rotor

Only prune plums in summer. Look up 'silverleaf in plums'

botchjob

sounds like you just pruned too hard and it's having a year off. Leave it alone and should be back next year.

mrstommo

Is it too late now to prune my plum tree. It has quite a lot of plums on it but also a lot of new growth with only leaves on it.

safestored4

Now is a good time to prune plums but you have to do it correctly. Just type in "How to prune plums" and go to the RHS website which will be near the top and follow their guidance. You say that you have a lot of plums. If the crop is heavy it will benefit from thinning out to give a better crop. The RHS site also advises about this.

DaftyDuck

Just avoid doing it with either rain forecast in the next few days, or with a heatwave imminent. Bit of sun, bit of grey, you'll be ok. Use sharp secateurs or a sharp saw, and make clean cuts.