If you only have a few trees and can afford the time, you can, of
course, bend and tie the branches as they grow, so that they will take
directions which seem to you better, but this is not practicable in
orcharding on a commercial scale. There is no disadvantage in crooked
branches in a fruit tree, but they should crook in desirable directions,
and that is where the art in pruning comes in.



Pruning Times.



What is the best time to prune the French prune and most other trees? In
Santa Clara volley they prune as soon as leaves are off; in the
mountains they prune later, say in February and March, and finish after
bloom is started and of course when sap is up. Which is right?

You can prune French prunes and other deciduous trees at any time during
the winter that is most convenient to you. It does not make any
particular difference to the tree, nor does it injure the tree at all if
you should continue pruning after the bloom has started. In fact, it is
better to make large cuts late in the winter, because they heal over
more readily at the beginning of the growing period than at the
beginning of the resting season. It is believed that early pruning may
cause the tree or vine to start growth somewhat sooner and this may be
undesirable in very frosty places.