When pruning at home, follow these pro tips for trimming ornamental or fruit trees:

• Start with the 3 D's: Dead, Dying, Diseased
• Always prune outside a branch collar for healthy healing.
• Sanitize tools between every tree pruned. 
• Remove less than 1/3 of growth for healthy tree recovery.

Beginning and veteran tree fruit growers alike are invited to come learn the basics of tree fruit pruning or get a refresher on their techniques. Newfound or honed skills can be tested on the fruit trees of the Refuge Food Forest. Join us for our two pruning workshops! 

Wednesday, March 6th, 4:00-5:30PM
Thursday, March 14th, 4:00-5:30PM

Please bring appropriate clothing and footwear for the weather, water or a warm beverage if you'll need it, and your favorite pruning tools! Hand-pruners, loppers, pole saws etc. are welcome. If you have your own cleaning solution (isopropyl alcohol or bleach water spray) to use on your tools, please bring that as well! If you don't have any pruning tools, a tool (hand pruners, loppers, or pole saw) will be provided to you for the class. 

If bringing your own tools, make sure your tools are sharpened and cleaned! Clean with isopropyl alcohol and a paper towel, or a 15% bleach/water solution before the class. We will meet at the grape arbor on the west side of the Refuge Food Forest. We will cover tools of the trade, sanitation, and best practices of pruning tree fruits for tree fruit production. A print-out, comprehensive tree fruit pruning guide for apples etc will be available to take home if desired. We may start pruning small fruits if we run out of trees! Come with any pruning questions prepared!