Question: What pruning do I need to do to my peach tree in subsequent years?

Answer: Peaches should be pruned rather heavily in January of each year, by as much as 40 to 50 percent. The next year’s fruit will be borne on the small red shoots produced the prior season. You want to remove any vertical shoots, always pruning just above buds or branches that face out from the center of the tree. Your ideal would be to maintain a bowl-shaped tree that was 8 to 10 feet tall and 15 to 18 feet wide. It’s critical that you begin your pruning program the day the tree is planted, and that you continue it annually thereafter.