"Bob Hobden" wrote in message
...


"Another John" wrote

A few days ago I posted a question about what to do about our 3-year old
plum tree. No replies that I've seen, so maybe there's no comment to be
made ... but on the off-chance...

Plum tree is 3 years old. About 4 plums last year. NO plums this
year -- but a huge amount of bushy growth in all directions.

Question: should I be pruning it furiously right now, while the bushy
growth is rampant?

[I can't remember what variety it is, but I'd guess that it's a Victoria,
since we're not fruit growers as such, and we'd just have gone for the
bog-standard favourite.]

Try... http://www.articlesbase.com/videos/5min/166434895


Unfortunately I found the video less than helpful - 90% grumbling about
someone else not pruning the way he would and repeating 'prune in spring'.
Plus continuous 'I've already told you how to do this'.
The last few seconds were O.K. but still not much information specific to
plums.

I have chanced across
http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_...ch_2b_plum.asp
which has some interesting things to say about location of the tree etc.
It also says:
"If the tree is being planted in soil which has previously been fertilised
for other crops, do not add more fertiliser - too fertile a soil will result
in too much tree growth at the expense of too little fruit growth."
This could tie in with the OP saying
"NO plums this year -- but a huge amount of bushy growth in all
directions."

So another possibility is that the ground is too fertile.
In which case it is probably best to let the tree grow out for a year or two
until it has used up some of the extra food and can settle down to producing
fruit.

Read through all the pages on plums atr this site - it does have a
comprehensive guide on what to do and what not to do.

HTH

Dave R
--
No plan survives contact with the enemy.

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder