08/16/2026
Yesterday and this coming week are really hot and pruning trees is rough work. Why now? Why not just wait? Simple... when you make a pruning cut, it needs to heal so that bacteria and fungi don't enter the tree through the wound. At this time of year, trees can still heal. Sap is flowing and leaves are still on the trees. Once they start going dormant and the sap flows down to the roots, healing is inhibited. Disease can set in, leading to a syndrome called peach tree short life (PTSL).
If you have stone fruit trees and you see an amber-colored oozing sap coming out of the tree, there is a decent chance it is infected with bacterial canker. Fungal canker causes dry, cracked, and necrotic areas on stems or branches. The fungal type might be salvageable with systemic fungicides. The bacterial type usually overwhelms the tree.
Some folks argue whether pruning of stone fruits should be done in summer or spring. The real answer is that both are okay, because the trees can heal... just not in fall. We top the trees and create walkable gaps between them in summer. We widen the driving walking paths between rows enough to drive a small tractor through. If we have time, we start removing center branches to make a vase-shape. Just before bud-break, which is usually in early February, we perform any final thinning cuts and remove spindly little branches or those angled down to the ground.
This year we purchased a bunch of blossom removal tools that will allow us to remove probably 70% of blossoms which will reduce the fruit count accordingly. This leads to larger fruits that also stay firmer for longer when picked, sweeter fruits, and fewer broken branches from weight. We need a bunch of tools because the blossoms are only on the trees for about 10 days, so removal requires a lot of hands working in parallel.
Hopefully, as we navigate this journey of making Sweets Berry Farm better each year, we're able to share with you some knowledge that is useful or at least interesting. If you have any questions related to berry or fruit orchards, chime in. Let's figure it out!
Best all,
Sheldon, owner
Sweets Berry Farm
3800 Davis Academy Rd
Rutledge, GA 30663
SweetsBerryFarm.com
678-662-6119
