Hello!

I planted four purple leaf plum trees, fairly young (about 10ft tall) in my sideyard last June. They didn't do great, because I guess they were planted the wrong time of the year? They looked very frail all the time and now in the winter they have lost all their leaves, which I assume is normal.

I need to prune the bottom branches of the trees to create walking access underneath them. I wanted to know:

1- Is it ok to do so, given the information above?

2- If it is ok to prune them, what is the best time of year to do so? I am reading contradictory information on the internet (reddit, google, my gardener). Some say in the winter where the tree is dormant and some say after the trees have bloomed.

I would greatly appreciate your expert advice here.
(Hardiness Zone 10B)

Now is a good time to prune them, while they are dormant. In southern CA you wont' likely get killing frosts any more this year, so it's no danger of freezing the tissue at the cut. And pruning the lower limbs stresses the plant very little, because most of it's growth and energy is directed towards the top of the crown.
Besides, your photos show a very healthy tree. Not as sickly as you suggest.
And lastly, the old orchardist insists that the best time to prune a tree is when your saw is sharp!

This is a good time to prune your trees. You aren't pruning anything except bottom branches. These trees don't get very tall - if you prune up too much, you will run out of tree. Your trees might be doing poorly because your area is way too hot for them. They aren't recommended above zone 8.

Here in Zone 5 we prune most of our fruit trees in "late winter". For me that is late February (depending on weather). The concept is to prune them before the buds start to swell but not so early that the cuts get damaged by cold weather.

While you want to prune the bottoms to allow foot travel I'd say you also need to thin out the whole tree. They look overgrown to me. I'd take out branches to open up the tree to light and air. That said, never remove more than 1/3 of the canopy in any given year. Here's a reference for pruning fruit trees including Plums:

https://pubs.nmsu.edu/_h/H327/...

Good luck!

It's not a fruit tree. The whole appeal of flowering purple plums is the flowers and purple leaves. They are not usually pruned for anything more then to remove dead branches and a little shaping (if needed).

Hopefully xarshiax founds trees that don't set fruit as this is a walking area.

Hi All!

Thank you so much for your expert advice.

1- Yes, these are not fruit trees, they are decorative purple leaf plum trees (Prunus Cerasifera).

2- I read in one or two articles that pruning them in winter time when they are dormant exposes them to fungi, since they have no defense and they are sleeping. Could you please advise on this?

3- Since I planted them last June, I am wondering if they have had a chance to take root or if I should postpone the pruning to next year? Are they strong enough to be pruned yet?

Thanks

This is the best time to prune bottom branches.

There are different thoughts on pruning young trees. One is that you shouldn't prune a young tree as those branches are helping to
support the tree. The other is, why
let the tree expend energy to grow a
branch you plan to cut off?

I'm in camp 2. Root to canopy ratio is very even - the tree grows enough leaves to support the roots and the roots produce enough to maintain the canopy. Obviously the roots and canopy are growing but they maintain that ratio... unless someone comes along to disrupt the status quo. By pruning, you upset the balance of roots:canopy. The tree will respond with a canopy growth spurt until the ratio is once again in balance..

Don't worry about fungus. You can clean the shear and saw blades with alcohol if you like, though I doubt that would make any difference.

The roots are established. If they weren't, the trees would would be dead by now.

The trees appear healthy. Maybe too healthy - they will soon crowd the spaces shown in your photos.

Go ahead and prune.

Thank you @lucy68 I didn't realize they were ornamental.

xarshiax said: Since I planted them last June, I am wondering if they have had a chance to take root or if I should postpone the pruning to next year?

If it was me... There's no way I'd be thinking about pruning...
And next year, I probably still wouldn't prune.

A lot of people make the mistake of aggressively pruning too soon, and then have to take measures to repair the damage the pruning caused.
It's my experience that those lower limbs are important for strong trunk development.
When people turn the plants into popsicles, the top gets too heavy when it rains, and then the entire tree bends... like it's pointing toward some attraction... Supposedly the natives did that purposely.