How to Prune a Grafted Cherry Tree
- 1). Wait to prune a grafted cherry tree until new shoot growth from the graft site is visible. Depending on the season when the graft was completed and the species used, this may mean a period of one or two months to nearly a year.
- 2). Remove any shoot growth around the graft site that threatens to shade the graft from the sun, during the first season of growth. Allow any shoots below or above the graft site to remain if they don't shade the graft. Snip the tips of the shoots back far enough to let the sun touch the grafted scion wood. Discard the clippings as needed.
- 3). Cut off all growth shoots, save those of the grafted scion wood, in the second year. Make the cuts flush with the trunk or branch, while being careful not to cut into the cambium of the parent branch.
- 4). Remove the tips of any grafted scion wood that appear to be diseased, as fire blight is a common culprit that attacks scion wood. Hold the graft juncture gently but firmly with one hand and cut off the diseased portion of the graft scion wood with sharp secateurs with the other. Sever the tip of the scion wood down to a point of healthy wood, keeping a buffer of 3 to 4 inches inches of healthy wood between what was diseased and what remains.
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