How to Cut Back a Weeping Cherry Tree

Wait until the summer, when the tree’s new growth is 3 to 4 inches. New growth will look like thin green shoots emerging from the branches.

Keep the leader branch that is pointing directly skyward, but prune off any side branches that diverge from the leader. Imagine the tree as your hand. Your middle finger should be your leading branch, and you need to prune away the pointer finger and the ring finger branches. In the first three years you can further train your tree by pruning so that all of the branches coming off of the main trunk leader resemble a Christmas tree shape.

Prune away any branches that have an angle of less than 60 degrees from the trunk.

Remove all branches that are opposite another branch on the leader. So if there is a branch diverging from the leader to the right and one on the opposite side diverging to the left, select one of those branches, and prune it away from the leader. Keep the Christmas tree shape in mind.

Space the remaining branches so that they grow uniformly around the leader.

Remove dead, damaged or diseased branches or leaves in the summer and fall. For mature trees, you may need to remove only these branches, as your tree will be properly trained after three or four years. Also remove any branches or shoots that are growing at angles toward the ground, as well as branches that seem to be shading or competing with other shoots.