How to Prune Walnut Trees in Late Summer
- 1). Clean the canopy by removing any dead, broken, diseased, wounded or abrading branches. Cut back to a point of healthy wood, placing the cut on a slight bias 1/4 inch above a leaf node or just outside the slightly swollen branch collar where the problem branches intersects with the parent branch.
- 2). Thin the interior of the canopy, removing any water sprouts that grow straight upwards, along with crossing or abrading branches. Look up into the canopy and thin any dense groups or snarls of branches that appear as congestion points in the canopy where fresh air flow is impeded and sunlight may struggle to penetrate.
- 3). Reduce the height of badly overgrown trees or those impinging on a roof line or other obstacle by removing up to a maximum of 5 feet of growth from the top of the canopy. Place all cuts just 1/4 inch above an outward facing lateral branch to prevent a permanent flat-top appearance which is unnatural and unattractive. Cut away only upright growing water sprouts from the top of the canopy in subsequent years.
- 4). Narrow the spread of the canopy by cutting back the terminal tips of the branches. This is where much of the unripe fruit will be located during the later summer. Remove up to but no more than 1/3 of the branch length as desired. Place the cut 1/4 inch beyond a branch joint or leaf node.