Basics of Tree Fruit Pruning to Maximize Production

Hello! Thanks for being with us. Please read carefully. For both pruning sessions, our location is 701 E Lincoln Street, Normal IL 61761 (the Refuge Food Forest).

Please arrive 5 minutes before the program start time of 4pm, so we can start promptly at 4pm and take advantage of remaining daylight. 

This year, we have two sessions of tree fruit pruning workshops available. They will be at the same time of day.

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 and 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!

For questions regarding this program, please contact me (Nick Frillman) at frillma2@illinois.edu