Drew, I'm sorry, I did accidentally (subconsciously on purpose, probably) exaggerate, but the guide doesn't recommend spray after pruning. However, upon further reading, I've found that your information is correct and copper spray is widely recommended after pruning even though it isn't very affective- but enough so to be worth doing according to current Cornell and other guidelines. I stand corrected and thank you for bringing this to my attention. After reading all this material about cherry canker I am somewhat surprised that my careless timing of pruning has never led to any outbreaks of this infection over the last 25 years. Cherries are a minority species in orchards I manage and I am very busy doing non-pruning work in the first couple weeks after trees come out of dormancy. It would be expensive to come back to prune only cherries and peaches at many of the smaller orchards I manage. I recently started managing cherries with summer pruning anyway- but only to better manage fruiting wood. I will now pay more attention to weather forecasts before performing this kind of pruning. I will wait until I actually see some cherry canker somewhere before I start spraying after pruning. I have to keep customer expenses down. If you hadn't posted about it I wouldn't think about cherry canker much at all. Thanks again.

I have appreciated all of the information on this site about pruning my dormant fruit trees - thank you for all of the help. My question concerns the best time to prune the evergreen types - citrus mainly, macadamia, avocado (hateful thing!), carob. All of these are evergreen here in zone 23/24 and outside of avocado (does its own thing anyway), are in need of pruning. The macadamia is now in the process of blooming and does so about 3 times a year - a wonderful, non-troublesome tree, but in need of pruning now. The citrus also, have lemons that appear to be having lots of lemons, but leaves scarce. Perhaps in need of cutting back as the oranges do - lots of fruit and drop also. The satsuma mandarin sets fruit in winter - so now is out of fruit - would this be a good time to prune back. It is about 30 years old now. In summary, when would be best time/technique for pruning these non-dormant trees? Bejay

Al: Oh, I do indeed have more trees! I am a bit overwhelmed by the number of pots both in and outside of my home. I am an incurable collector. I could ask you questions about them all day. . . Back in March, you answered several of my questions about making the gritty mix when I was just embarking upon that adventure. I put a few plants that were on death's doorstep in the mix then. A few didn't make it (a draceana among them), a few are thriving (the aloe and spider plant love the mix!), most have held steady and are starting to show signs of growth (shefflera, swiss cheese philodendron). So I do have a sense of the patience required when repotting before the optimal time. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of undertaking things at the right time. It's been nice to practice with the mix, learn about it's water retention, and begin to tweak it for my needs before I moved my most-beloveds into it. This week I chopped an enormous floppy jade back to it's thick base and put it in the mix. Looking forward to that development. Also a favorite cactus whose name I don't know; it's about four feet tall, main stalk about 3-4" diameter with five stalks coming off the main, so maneuvering it was an exciting project. I was nervous about that one, but glad I did it when I got in there and saw how cemented the roots were in the hardest soil I've ever dealt with. I have a ficus lyrata (fiddle fig) that also reaches the ceiling, so I'm using your advice to give it a new shape. I'm planning on following roughly the same timing for it as for the elastica. I have a very big Bloodgood maple in a pot that's too big to move. I'd love to get that back to a manageable size, but it has just leafed out beautifully and I'm thinking that it is not the right time for that. Your comments are welcome. My other big question involves conifers. I have a very sick Wilma Goldcrest Cypress, and some kind of arborvitae (I think). I've noted that you don't recommend bare-rooting these, but cutting wedges. Is that correct? What about timing? Okay, I've rambled enough. As you can probably tell now, I'm addicted (like many folks I've read on this site). Thanks again for your help. I'm really enjoying learning about the plants, seeing their roots, and giving them conditions to thrive. blessings, brenda

Pruning can be done any time of year, but there are definitely BEST times, especially if there is a lot to be cut. Deciduous trees that flower before the end of May should be pruned as soon as blooming is over. Deciduous trees that flower after May should be pruned between Jan & Mar. Prune flowering cherries in late summer, flowering evergreens in May, conifers in autumn. Cut out dead, damaged, or diseased wood as it is discovered.