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["William C. Garthright" <billg@inebraska.com>]

46d47.84ba531.39a5ceaf@aol.com" type="cite"> I highly doubt that spring pruning causes the subject to break dormancy earlier.
Can't think of a reason for this.

I never heard a reason for it, Jerry. It was just one of the things I read when I was first learning about pruning. Of course, I have no way of telling how accurate anything that I read is. There's so very much information about fruit-growing - and everything else - online, but who knows how reliable it is?

Before this, I never heard anyone contradict it, so I figured it was probably established knowledge. Apparently not, huh?

So, does keeping branches more horizontal help delay them breaking dormancy? I've heard that, too.

Yes it does and the larger the wound the longer to heal over. Large limbs cut off can take years to heal over. If you prune now I doubt if the collar would even form to begin healing over.

I didn't realize that. And this is a problem? I figured that it would be OK as soon as the end had stopped leaking and dried up.

For the most part, I'll just be pruning this year's green growth, nothing too big. Ordinarily, shoots sprout out pretty quickly after that, and I knew that that growth would be tender. But I figured that would be the only problem.

Bill

http://garthright.blogspot.com/

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