Use the following chart to help jog your memory on when it is best to prune either a fruit tree or a bush. We will come back to this list periodically to add to it as we have updates. And after you have pruned, be ready for when blooms emerge as spring is an ideal time to fertilize once you see new growth.

Fruit Trees:

Apple	Winter or early spring	Train tree for low head and prune moderately. Keep the center of the tree open with main branches well-spaced around the tree. Avoid sharp V-shaped crotches.
Cherry	Winter or early spring	Prune moderately, cut back slightly the most vigorous shoots.
Citrus	Spring after risk of freeze has passed,	Prune after risk of freeze has passed, but well in advance of summer heat. Water sprouts, a.k.a. “suckers”, emerge frequently, especially the first few years of the tree’s life. It’s best to remove suckers as they appear, otherwise, they take energy from the tree. The thorns also make harvest difficult. If the suckers do produce fruit, it is usually bitter and unpalatable.
Peach	Early spring before buds	Prune vigorously removing one-half of the previous year’s growth keeping the tree headed low and well thinned out.
Plum	Early spring	Remove dead and diseased branches, keep tree shaped up by cutting back rank growth. Prune moderately.
Quince	Early spring	Cut back young trees to form low, open head. Little pruning of older trees is required except to remove dead and weak growth and keep airflow.
Flowering Japanese Magnolia	Early spring	Before buds open, trim off side limbs that cross another limb. Keep center of tree open for airflow and birds will nest in it.

Fruit Bushes, Flowering Bushes, and Vining Plants

Blackberry	After bearing and summer	Remove at ground canes that bore last crop.In summer, but back new shoots 3.5′ high.
Boxwood	Early spring	Trim and shape before new growth occurs.
Blueberry	Winter while plants are dormant	Blueberries only grow on branches that are at least one year old, but the older the branch, the fewer the berries produced. You must prune the bushes so that they provide enough new growth for blueberry production the following year.
Raspberry	After bearing and summer	Remove at the ground in fall canes which bore last crop. In summer, head back new canes 20 ” to 22″ inches high.
Currant	Early spring	Remove old unfruitful growth and encourage new shoots.
Gardenia	Right after blooms have faded	Pruning your gardenia every other year typically keeps the size manageable. Gardenia blooms on new growth, so pruning after bloom cycle is ideal.
Gooseberry	Early spring	Same as currant—cut back shoots at 12″ inch and side shoots to two buds.
Grape	Late winter or early spring	Requires heavy pruning of old wood to encourage new bearing wood. Remove all old branches back to main vine. Cut back the previous year’s new growth to four buds.
Hydrangea	Early spring	Hills of Snow variety cut back to ground. Other varieties: remove dead and weak growth, cut old flowering stems back
Elderberry	After fruiting (Sept/Oct)	Prune severely. Remove one-half of season’s growth on established plants.
Roses, Tea, Hybrid, Perpetual	Early spring	Cut away all dead and weak growth and shorten all remaining branches or canes to four buds for weak growers and five buds for vigorous varieties.
Roses, Climbing	After flowering	Cut away all dead and weak growth and shorten all remaining branches or canes to four buds for weak growers and five buds for vigorous varieties.