How To Grow Plums / RHS Gardening

Plums trees should be pruned annually to keep them in good shape, healthy and productive. They fruit on a mixture of one- and two-year old wood and older shoots. Avoid pruning plum trees during the dormant season or in mid- to late autumn, to minimise the risk of infection from silver leaf disease andbacterial canker.

• Young trees should be pruned in early spring, after the buds open
• Established trees should be pruned in summer

Free-standing plum trees are best pruned as:

• Bush trees – with a trunk about 75cm (2½ft) tall, then three or four branches radiating out from the top of the trunk to create an open-centred goblet shape
• Pyramid trees – similar to bush trees, but with their central shoot (leader) intact, so they don’t have an open centre. The branches start lower down, 40–50cm (15–20in) from the ground, and get gradually shorter further up the tree, to create a pyramid shape

Plum trees can also be trained into more space-saving shapes, ideal for small gardens or if you want to grow several fruit trees. The best shapes for plums are:

• Fans – a short trunk topped with a flat fan of radiating branches, trained against a wall or fence. Prune twice a year, in early summer and straight after fruiting – see initial pruning of fans and pruning established fans
• Cordons – these are very compact, single-stemmed trees with short side-shoots, ideal for small spaces and containers. Support with a sturdy stake or horizontal wires. As there are no truly dwarfing plum rootstocks, this method is less successful with plums than with apples and pears. However, it can work with small, less vigorous varieties such as ‘Early Laxton’ and ‘Blue Tit’, grafted on semi-dwarfing ‘Pixy’ or ‘VVA-1’ rootstock. See training plums as cordons

Plum trees can be bought ready-trained, partly trained or untrained, depending on how much work you want to do. Plums aren’t suitable for training as espaliers. For more information, see our guide to pruning plums below.

Related RHS Guides

Pruning overgrown plums

If a plum tree hasn’t been pruned for several years, its branches can get congested. Removal of branches should be staged over several summers. Aim to gradually create a well-balanced framework with an open centre to allow in plenty of light and air. Trees respond to larger pruning cuts by sending up a mass of new shoots. Where this happens, the shoots will need to be thinned in the summer to leave just one or two.