escapee wrote:

My peach tree gave me 5 bushels of fruit, not counting the fruit which fell on
the ground and was eaten by squirrels. They were fabulous. My problem is that,
there are a few large scaffold arms which have invaded the patio where I put my
greenhouse during the winter. I have to remove a rather large limb. Should I
do it now, or wait till cold weather? Keep in mind, cold weather may never
come, only less light. The ground never freezes here, but..well, I was just
wondering how it would affect the tree if I prune off a large limb now.

Wait until the tree drops its leaves before pruning. While I
haven't seen snow in over 10 years and the ground here NEVER
freezes, we do get night frosts in the winter. Serious pruning now
can cause new growth that could be damaged by frost. At the
minumum, the new growth would occur just as the tree is getting
ready to go dormant. It's the lack of winter dormancy (caused by
freezing temperatures) that shortens the life of a peach tree in my
climate.

When you do prune, use white glue to seal large cuts (not pruning
paint).

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/