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[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

> The $64 question is....is it too late to prune?

The $0 answer is...no. Fruit trees can be pruned any time, not just during 
dormancy. Once buds begin to open, the trees will react differently than at 
dormancy, often producing more new growth because the sap is flowing and 
all that energy is seeking some place to go.

I just checked Gene Logsdon's ORGANIC ORCHARDING. Boy, do I love having my 
books back on shelves! After he gives the varying orchardist's opinions, he 
ends with, "Or you can, without too much fear, follow the old orchardists' 
wry advice: Prune when your pruning knife is sharp."

My personal experience is that modern trees are so vigorous in growth, and 
likely I feed and water them too much, that pruning needs to be done on a 
year-round basis or they become unmanageable. Ever notice how a tree loads 
itself with way too much fruit? Prune a bunch of it off. That brings up 
another issue: you do need to know which plants, not just trees, fruit on 
new wood or old wood.