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To prune an apricot tree, you need to remove dead, diseased, and crossing branches during the late winter while the tree is dormant.
It’s a simple process, but the timing and technique matter more than most gardeners realize.
If you’ve ever stood in front of your apricot tree with a pair of loppers and felt overwhelmed, you’re in the right place.
Pruning an apricot tree is not about hacking away at random branches, it’s about shaping the tree for better sunlight, airflow, and future fruit production.
When you learn how to prune an apricot tree correctly, you’ll be rewarded with healthier growth and a bigger harvest come summer.
In this post, we’ll walk you through the best ways to prune an apricot tree, the exact steps to prune an apricot tree for young and mature trees, and the mistakes that can cost you your crop.
Let’s dig in.
When and How to Prune an Apricot Tree
Knowing how to prune an apricot tree starts with understanding the right season.
You should prune an apricot tree in late winter, usually between February and early March, before new growth begins.
This window is critical because apricot trees are more susceptible to fungal diseases like silver leaf if you prune them during wet, cold periods.
If you’re wondering how to prune an apricot tree for the first time, think of it as a three-step process: remove the bad, thin out the crowded, and shorten the rest.
Let’s break that down so you can prune an apricot tree with total confidence.
1. Start With the Three D’s
Before anything else, you should prune an apricot tree by removing any dead, damaged, or diseased wood.
These branches are easy to spot because they’ll look brown, brittle, or have sunken cankers.
Cut them back to the point where the wood is healthy, or remove them entirely at the branch collar.
You also want to prune apricot tree branches that are rubbing against each other, as the friction creates open wounds that invite pests.
This first step is non-negotiable, and it’s the safest way to prune an apricot tree when you’re unsure.
2. Thin Out the Center
Apricot trees love sunlight, so the next step in how to prune an apricot tree is to open up the canopy.
Aim for a vase or open-center shape, where the middle of the tree is relatively empty.
When you prune an apricot tree, remove any branches growing straight up into the center of the tree.
Also, cut away any branch that grows inward toward the trunk.
These inward-growing shoots block light and airflow, creating perfect conditions for brown rot.
After thinning, you should be able to see daylight through the center of the tree.
That’s the golden rule when you prune an apricot tree: if you can’t throw a bird through the middle, you haven’t thinned enough.
3. Shorten the Previous Year’s Growth
To prune an apricot tree for better fruiting, you need to encourage new spurs, which are the short, stubby branches that bear fruit.
Find the branches that grew last season and cut them back by about one-third.
Make your cut just above a bud that’s facing outward, not inward.
This directs new growth away from the center and keeps the tree spreading nicely.
If you’re working with a young tree, you’ll also want to prune apricot tree leaders (the main vertical shoots) to about 30 inches above the ground.
This forces the tree to develop strong side branches, which is exactly what you want to prune an apricot tree into a sturdy structure.
How to Prune Apricot Tree for Young vs. Mature Trees
The age of your tree changes the approach, so let’s talk about how to prune an apricot tree depending on its stage of life.
A one-year-old whip and a ten-year-old tree need different types of cuts, even though the basic principles stay the same.
1. Pruning a Young Apricot Tree (Years 1–3)
When you prune apricot tree saplings, you’re building the framework for the next 20 years.
In the first winter, cut the central leader down to about 24–30 inches from the ground.
This sounds harsh, but it forces the tree to push out lateral branches low on the trunk.
In the second year, select 3 to 4 well-spaced lateral branches that are evenly distributed around the trunk.
These will be your main scaffold branches.
Then prune apricot tree branches that are too low (below 18 inches) or too steep (growing more than 45 degrees).
In the third year, just tip the ends of the scaffold branches by a few inches.
And always continue to remove any inward-growing shoots.
This is the blueprint for how to prune an apricot tree that will stay productive and manageable for years.
2. Pruning a Mature Apricot Tree
For older trees, your goal shifts from shaping to maintaining.
You should still prune an apricot tree every single year, even if it looks healthy, because annual pruning keeps fruiting wood young.
With mature trees, focus on removing older, grey-colored branches that have stopped producing fruit.
Apricot trees bear on spurs that last about 3 to 4 years.
When you prune apricot tree branches that are older than that, you trigger the tree to grow fresh spurs.
Also, cut away any water sprouts, which are those fast-growing vertical shoots that rarely fruit.
A mature apricot tree that’s been neglected can be pruned more aggressively, but don’t remove more than 30% of the canopy in one season.
Doing more than that shocks the tree and can cause sunburn on the exposed bark.
How to Prune Apricot Tree for Maximum Fruit Yield
If you want to know how to prune an apricot tree to get more apricots, you have to balance vigor and fruiting.
Heavy pruning stimulates vigorous leafy growth, which sounds good but actually reduces fruit set.
Light pruning keeps the tree calm and directs energy into fruit.
The trick is to prune apricot tree wood that’s weak, spindly, or tangled, but leave the sturdy, outward-facing branches alone.
1. Keep the Fruiting Spurs
Apricot trees fruit on spurs, and those spurs live for a few years before dying off.
When you prune apricot tree branches, don’t cut off the fat, stubby spurs that are clustered along the older wood.
These are your fruit factories.
Only remove spurs if they’re dead, broken, or overlapping another spur badly.
If you accidentally prune apricot tree spurs off, you’re cutting off this year’s harvest.
So be careful and look before you cut.
2. Open Up to Sunlight
Apricots need full sun to ripen evenly and develop that sweet flavor you love.
When you thin the canopy, the fruit gets exposed to direct sunlight, which also helps dry off morning dew and reduces the chance of rot.
Every time you prune an apricot tree, ask yourself: will this cut help the sun reach the center?
If the answer is no, leave the branch alone.
So, How Do You Prune an Apricot Tree?
You prune an apricot tree in late winter by removing dead, crossing, and inward-growing branches to open the center.
You prune apricot tree young saplings to shape a strong framework, and you prune mature trees to keep fruiting spurs young.
The best way to prune an apricot tree safely is to make clean cuts at a slight angle, just above a strong outward-facing bud.
Avoid stubs, as they rot and invite disease.
And always remember, you should prune an apricot tree every single year without fail.
Skipping a year leads to overgrown wood, reduced fruit size, and an unbalanced shape that’s hard to fix later.
Now that you know how to prune an apricot tree, grab your sharp bypass pruners, head out on the next dry winter day, and give your tree the care it deserves.
Your apricot harvest will thank you.