If you are growing cordon, espalier, fan trained or other ‘restricted’ forms of fruit trees on dwarfing rootstocks, now is the time for summer pruning. In France we can start this process a little earlier than in England which is usually late July. The ideal time is when the lateral shoots that have grown all along the main stems are roughly as thick and as long as a pencil.

You need to cut all of these new stems back to a couple of buds, this will keep the shape of the tree restricted and in form, it will also reveal the fruits and main branches which will allow sunshine to ripen the fruits, making them sweeter, tastier and give them a red

bloom. It will also allow sunshine to ripen the wood of the main branches and spurs which helps to strengthen the wood, prepare for dormancy and induce bud formation for next years flowers and fruits.

We will be holding a demonstration at Le Jardin Creatif on Saturday 30th June at 11.00am FREE. Come along on Saturday and find out more.