Should I top off my Cherimoya tree?

[sosamo]

Hi, I planted this El Bumpo Cherimoya tree about 4 months ago from a 5 gallon pot. It's about 7-8ft tall now.I do not have much space, and it will be difficult to get fruit from a 10ft+ tree.

[Mustang128]

I just pruned my cherimoya tree last week.  It is the time of year to prune annonas. I would suggest prune down to perhaps 5 feet tall.

Kent

[spaugh]

You should prune back all the long branches to 18" long and strip off the top 3 leaves after pruning to promote branches to form. 

[mangomanic12]

Boy you guys are lucky to live in California. If i tried to plant a fruit tree close to the wall like that in Arizona ( other than maybe a pomegranate) ..... it would burn to a crisp lol.

Yeah, Top it man!

[sosamo]

You should prune back all the long branches to 18" long and strip off the top 3 leaves after pruning to promote branches to form.

I thought you're suppose to prune before spring starts?  So now it is a good time to prune my Cherimoya/atemoyas? (that doesn't have fruits)?

What do you mean by stripping of the top 3 leaves?

[sosamo]

Another question.  So I have this Atemoya i grew from seed.  It was like 6ft tall. Then i top it at 4ft. Then one day i was not thinking, I top it at 2 ft:(  I was going to just trash it, but decided to put it in the ground.  It seems to survived, even after pulling it out of the ground 2 times.

Should I prune the branches down to 18"?  The branches are like 2-3ft  long.

[sosamo]

Boy you guys are lucky to live in California. If i tried to plant a fruit tree close to the wall like that in Arizona ( other than maybe a pomegranate) ..... it would burn to a crisp lol.

Yeah, Top it man!

Haha. I have 2 Cherimoyas against the wall, and here is So. Cal, the weather does hit 90-100+.  Some of my leaves do get burnt.  I don't have much space left.  For $35.00 a piece, it was worth the investment to alleve my tropical trees addiction. 

[spaugh]

You should prune back all the long branches to 18" long and strip off the top 3 leaves after pruning to promote branches to form.

I thought you're suppose to prune before spring starts?  So now it is a good time to prune my Cherimoya/atemoyas? (that doesn't have fruits)?

What do you mean by stripping of the top 3 leaves?

Yeah you should do it in spring and again end of summer.  You need to remove the leaves where you want branches or they wont grow.  The buds are under the petioles. 

[sosamo]

Thanks. So I will prune my annonas now, and again in early march? I will prune the branches down to 18" or so, take off the last 3 leaves.  But what about the center / leader branch that I will top off?  Do I do the same with the taking off the last 3 leaves also?

Thanks. I have always been scared to prune even after watching so many youtube videos about pruning.

[spaugh]

If it was my tree, I would prune all of the branches including the leader down then leaf strip.  Thrn prune again in spring or summer whenever it needs it then the following year do a spring trim to induce flowering and let it hold fruit in 2 years.  And I would ditch the T post so the tree can become strong and hold itself up. 

[RodneyS]

I like to prune my cherimoyas when they go dormant

[sosamo]

I like to prune my cherimoyas when they go dormant

That's what I thought also.  I did read about Barbados Cherry though. "The best time of year for pruning Barbados cherries is early in the fall, once fruiting has finished. Heavy pruning allows the plant to produce new growth that hardens off enough before chilly winter temperatures."

Maybe it is the same with Cherimoyas?  My Cherimoyas are pretty young, and no flowers or fruits, so probably doesn't hurt.

[spaugh]

You can prune twice a year.  Thats why people like Frank the annona guru are selling scions 2X per year.  Not only 2x a year but whenever a branch gets too long just pinch it off and steip the leaves where you want a new branch.  I do summer pruning on all my stone fruits and cherimoya.  Otherwise you end up with long branches like you have that could have been multiple short branches and bushy canopy.  You basically wasting time if you let the branches get that long.  This is how my cherimoya trees look after a few years of this.  With a tree the size you have dont even worry about fruit next year just prune when it needs it and build the canopy where you can reach and pollinate it.

[sosamo]

You can prune twice a year.  Thats why people like Frank the annona guru are selling scions 2X per year.  Not only 2x a year but whenever a branch gets too long just pinch it off and steip the leaves where you want a new branch.  I do summer pruning on all my stone fruits and cherimoya.  Otherwise you end up with long branches like you have that could have been multiple short branches and bushy canopy.  You basically wasting time if you let the branches get that long.  This is how my cherimoya trees look after a few years of this.  With a tree the size you have dont even worry about fruit next year just prune when it needs it and build the canopy where you can reach and pollinate it.

Awesome. Thanks for the info and picture.

[SixPlate]

You can prune twice a year.  Thats why people like Frank the annona guru are selling scions 2X per year.  Not only 2x a year but whenever a branch gets too long just pinch it off and steip the leaves where you want a new branch.  I do summer pruning on all my stone fruits and cherimoya.  Otherwise you end up with long branches like you have that could have been multiple short branches and bushy canopy.  You basically wasting time if you let the branches get that long.  This is how my cherimoya trees look after a few years of this.  With a tree the size you have dont even worry about fruit next year just prune when it needs it and build the canopy where you can reach and pollinate it.

What a beautiful tree! About how tall is it?

[spaugh]

You can prune twice a year.  Thats why people like Frank the annona guru are selling scions 2X per year.  Not only 2x a year but whenever a branch gets too long just pinch it off and steip the leaves where you want a new branch.  I do summer pruning on all my stone fruits and cherimoya.  Otherwise you end up with long branches like you have that could have been multiple short branches and bushy canopy.  You basically wasting time if you let the branches get that long.  This is how my cherimoya trees look after a few years of this.  With a tree the size you have dont even worry about fruit next year just prune when it needs it and build the canopy where you can reach and pollinate it.

What a beautiful tree! About how tall is it?

Its around 7ft tall.   I want to keep my cherimoyas that size so I can reach the flowers. 

[SixPlate]

I hope it’s not rude of me to jump in this post with a similar question. I figure people seeking this info would like to see it in a single thread, but please let me know if I should start a separate one. Basically, it sounds like I should also start shaping my newly acquired cherimoya, but I am not sure where to start.

You can see there are criss-crossing branches, but the one that is coming out at a better angle has been cut short and the other one looks rather weak. In fact, there are a few weak-looking branches to me. Should I remove them all or? Or is this guy a candidate for topping as well? I cringe just to think about it 😅

It’s about 4 feet above the soil line right now.

[Mvule101]

Also should I be prunmy Annona reticulata? I has now grown some 15feet tall and some of the fruit are way beyond reach.

Thanks

[Seanny]

SP
The shortened branch has a narrow crotch angle so it’s not good.
The one below it has a wider angle so it’s good.

Do you want a tree with central leader or a tree with open vase shape?

[SixPlate]

SP
The shortened branch has a narrow crotch angle so it’s not good.
The one below it has a wider angle so it’s good.

Do you want a tree with central leader or a tree with open vase shape?

Looking at it with fresh eyes, I see you’re right about which branch is better angled. As for shape, I assumed open vase is better than central leader for keeping it small, so would prefer that.

[JF]

You want to keep it bushy to make it easier for you to hand pollinate. You should have no problem keeping it at 8’ if you prune 2 or 3 times a year.

[Mvule101]

You want to keep it bushy to make it easier for you to hand pollinate. You should have no problem keeping it at 8’ if you prune 2 or 3 times a year.

Do I treat A reticulata the same way?

[Seanny]

Also should I be prunmy Annona reticulata? I has now grown some 15feet tall and some of the fruit are way beyond reach.

Thanks

You prune to what ever height you like. There is no wrong way.

I keep my trees small because I like to have many trees rather than a few large trees.
I keep my trees short because I don’t like to use a ladder to hand pollinate the flowers.

If you have room you can leave your trees big like Brad and Frank.

[SixPlate]

Looking at the picture of my tree in my previous post, would it make sense for me to just chop off everything a node or two above the bottom two branches, and to do so at this time of year?

[johnnyv]

Looking at the picture of my tree in my previous post, would it make sense for me to just chop off everything a node or two above the bottom two branches, and to do so at this time of year?

You could do that, you can do virtually anything to a Cherimoya pruning wise.
In one season I get between 60-120 cm growth on new branches and I prune it to 15-30 cm and thin weak, crowded and inwards facing branches.
Takes me less than 10 minutes per tree once per year to maintain a two meter tree after pruning(you will spend way more time hand pollinating them).
The summer growth height is not a concern for me because it doesn't contain fruit higher up.