POP Orchard Pruning virtual Q&A 2/15

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Phil Forsyth

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Feb 13, 2024, 12:57:32 PMFeb 13
to Philadelphia Orchard Group
Pruning got you stumped?  

Join POP staff this Thursday evening for our free virtual Q&A session with your pruning questions!  

Register here to receive the zoom link: 


And see previous email below for other pruning workshops, resources and info. 

Phil Forsyth, Co-Executive Director
Philadelphia Orchard Project
Pronouns: he/him



---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Phil Forsyth <ph...@phillyorchards.org>
Date: Tue, Jan 9, 2024 at 3:11 PM
Subject: POP TIPS: pruning guide & winter pruning workshops!
To: Philadelphia Orchard Group <ph...@googlegroups.com>


Philly Orchardists,
Orchard pruning season 2024 has arrived!  See information and resources below and please register for our upcoming hands-on pruning workshops: 

To kick off the season, we've just posted our updated POP Pruning Guide (with clearer explanations and new drawings!).  Please also check out POP's pruning videos on our YouTube channel:  




The calendar and the cold tell us that it's time again for pruning fruit trees, berry bushes, and fruiting vines.  It is important to prune most fruiting plants every winter, regardless of their age!  Essentially everything except peaches are best pruned while dormant, between now and mid March.  

Here is a quick list of the reasons for annual pruning:

1. open all parts of tree to sunlight
2. increase air circulation
3. improve quality, quantity & consistency of harvest
4. prevent infection and spread of disease
5. create good structure to support fruit
6. avoid breakage from poor branch angles
7. control size for easier harvest
8. ensure penetration of sprays
9. stimulate vegetative growth

In addition to our new video seriesI've also attached a printable version of the POP Pruning Guide in English and Spanish.  

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR POP ORCHARDS: We are again offering pruning training visits to all our orchard partners that need assistance.  Please contact your lead POP staff support sooner than later if you'd like to set up a pruning day at your site.  With 68 orchard sites and counting, if you wait too long to contact us, we may run out of days to help you!  

For those of you who plan to accomplish your annual pruning on your own, note that a variety of pruning tools is available for borrowing through the city's  tool libraries: 


For POP volunteers, if you'd like to gain more experience with pruning and help out at some of our POP orchard partner sites, please sign up for our Lead Orchard Volunteer email list.  Best way to learn is hands-on!  

Note: in order to assist with pruning, we expect you to have attended a previous POP pruning workshop or at the very least, have viewed our video series or read the attached pruning guide in full.  Other than the pruning workshops, most pruning sessions are held on weekdays.  

Happy pruning all!   


Phil Forsyth, Co-Executive Director
Philadelphia Orchard Project
Pronouns: he/him
POP Pruning Guide 2024.pdf


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