How to Prune a Dormant Pluot

Spread the tarp beneath the pluot tree in late winter or early spring. The tarp will catch the branches and twigs that you remove.

Check the bottom of the tree where it meets the soil. Cut off any sprouts or suckers growing up from the trunk of the tree with pruning shears. Cut them off flush with the trunk.

Examine the canopy of the tree to find any crossing or rubbing branches. Cut them back where they intersect with the next largest branch using the lopper pruner or pruning saw. Ideally, the inner branches of the pluot should not grow closer than about 6 inches.

Remove any diseased or dead branches on the tree back to the point where the growth appears healthy and vibrant. Dead and diseased branches may have missing bark, and they probably do not have viable buds present along the branches. Identify dead branches by scraping the surface of the branch with the blade of the pruning shears. If the inner layer of the branch appears green, even when the pluot tree is dormant, the branch is alive. If the inner layer appears brown or gray, the branch is dead.

Shape the tree to control height and spread. Cut the ends of the branches by about half of the previous year’s growth or about one-third of the total length of the branches. Make each cut where the branch meets another branch, and cut it off at a 45-degree angle.

Check for additional vertical branches that are competing with the central leader (the main central trunk) of the tree and attempting to grow taller. Remove these branches back to the next largest branch with the lopper pruner or pruning saw.