Summer Gardening Skills - Summer Pruning

Do you prune your fruit trees in the summer?  Summer pruning is an essential—but often overlooked step in maintaining the health and productivity of your fruit trees. Unlike winter pruning, summer pruning helps control tree size, improve airflow, and encourage the best possible fruit production for certain types of fruits.

In this one hour Master Class taken by Scott Hitchins, we’ll walk you through which fruits benefit most from summer pruning—such as apples, pears, stone fruits, and berries—and how to approach the task at different stages of growth. 

You’ll learn:

When and why to prune in summer compared to winter, and how each season affects tree growth.

• The specific benefits of summer pruning, including enhanced fruit size, improved sunlight exposure, and stronger disease resistance.
• Pruning techniques for various fruit trees: thinning out excess growth, removing deadwood, and shaping trees to encourage optimal fruiting.
• Top tips to help you get the timing just right, avoid common mistakes, and tackle challenges like overgrowth or disease prevention.
• Practical advice for pruning different types of fruit trees—from apples and peaches to cherries and grapes—and when to prune based on their unique growth cycles.

Whether you’re managing a backyard orchard or caring for a few fruit trees in your garden, summer pruning can make a huge difference in the health and harvest of your trees. Join us and unlock the secret to healthier, more productive fruit trees this summer with the right pruning techniques!

This session is the first in a series called “Summer Gardening Skills”. Other topics include – Hand Pollination, Seed Saving and Storing.  Book the Series Package for discount. Friends of SGA receive a 15% discount on Master Class full price tickets. You can become a Friend of SGA here. Green Garden Professional (GGPs) receive a 30% discount.

Sustainable Gardening Australia (SGA) is a not-for-profit non-government organiation dedicated to achieving a healthy biodiverse planet.

Its driving purpose is to:

• Encourage, educate and enable home and professional gardeners to adopt sustainable gardening practices to protect or enhance the natural environment;
• Provide information, education and undertake research about the natural environment;
• Reconnect people to the natural world through gardening; and
• Ensure an understanding of the impacts that gardening decisions about chemical and resource use have on the natural environment well beyond their neighbourhood.