Most fruit trees are pruned in late winter. Sweet cherries are the exception. Cherry pruning cuts are an easy entry point for disease in cold, wet weather, so the safest time to prune is in dry summer weather after the fruit is picked.

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The short answer: prune sweet cherry trees in summer. Penn State Extension says sweet cherries are best pruned after they have fruited or in early July. UC Marin Master Gardeners advise pruning cherries only when rain is unlikely for the next six weeks and ideally no later than August. Avoid winter pruning. Do most of the shaping in the first three to five years, then prune lightly.

Why timing matters for cherries

Cherries are prone to diseases that enter through wounds. UC Marin Master Gardeners say cherries are very susceptible to brown rot, bacterial canker, root and crown rots and eutypa, a fungal disease spread by water. For that reason they recommend pruning only when rain is unlikely over the following six weeks. In their mild, wet-winter climate they go further: never prune cherries in winter.

Penn State Extension makes a similar point for stone fruit in general. It says stone fruits are very susceptible to cytospora canker and cannot protect winter pruning wounds from infection. While it recommends pruning most stone fruits from just before bloom to 2 weeks after petal fall, it makes sweet cherries the exception: prune them after fruiting or in early July.

Sweet cherry pruning calendar

Time	What to do
At planting	Make the first training cut to set the height of the main branches (Penn State)
First summer	Pinch shoots growing into the center; choose 3 or 4 main scaffold limbs (Penn State)
After harvest to early July	Main pruning window for sweet cherries (Penn State)
Through August in dry weather	Still acceptable if rain is unlikely for six weeks (UC Marin)
Autumn and winter	Avoid pruning

Training a young sweet cherry

UC Marin says cherries benefit greatly from careful structural pruning in the first three to five years, to create an open center and good spacing between scaffold branches. Once that structure is in place, little pruning is needed.

Penn State’s open-center method gives the specifics:

At planting. If the tree has no branches 20 to 30 inches above the soil, cut it at 26 to 30 inches. Scaffold branches will develop just below the cut. If it already has branches between 15 and 30 inches up, choose three or four spread around the trunk, cut them back by half to an outward-facing bud and remove the rest.
First summer. Pinch off shoots that start growing toward the center. By the end of summer, pick three or four permanent scaffolds. Penn State says they should be spaced about 6 inches apart vertically, not directly above one another, at an angle of 60 to 90 degrees from vertical.
Following years. Remove broken or diseased branches and vigorous upright shoots inside the scaffolds. Keep the center open.

An open center lets light and air into the canopy. Penn State notes this helps reduce brown rot on the fruit.

Pruning an established sweet cherry

UC Marin’s summer checklist for sweet cherries:

Remove dead, diseased or damaged branches.
Remove crossing branches.
Sparingly, use thinning cuts to remove branches that crowd the interior or the gaps between scaffolds.
Remove branches with narrow angles of attachment.
Aim for even branch spacing throughout the tree.

Use thinning cuts, not heading cuts

A thinning cut removes a branch back to where it starts. A heading cut shortens a branch partway along. UC Marin warns against heading cuts on cherries because they trigger a flush of reactive growth at the cut. Penn State’s fruit-set guide also says thinning cuts encourage more flowering, while heading cuts stimulate leafy growth and delay flowering.

Avoid big cuts

UC Marin advises against removing branches more than two or three inches in diameter on established cherries, since large wounds can become entry points for disease. If a tree needs major work, spread it over several summers.

Do not remove the fruiting spurs

Sweet cherries fruit from flower buds near the base of one-year-old wood and from spurs on older wood, according to UC Marin. The spurs stay productive for three to five years. Avoid stripping all the short, stubby side growth from the branches, or you remove next year’s crop.

Sweet cherry versus sour cherry pruning

Sour (tart) cherries follow the same timing advice in UC Marin’s guide, with two differences. They tend to form a tangle of branches near the top of the tree, so give that area extra attention. And they fruit mainly on one-year-old wood, so some new growth each year is important. Penn State says tart cherries naturally grow in a vase shape that suits the open-center system.

Can pruning stop a cherry from fruiting?

Yes. Penn State lists overpruning, along with overfertilizing, as the main reason home fruit trees fail to bear. K-State notes that excessive pruning stimulates upright growth and delays bearing, while too little pruning shades the inner canopy so fruit forms only at the edges. The goal is moderate, regular pruning. If your tree is not fruiting, see our guide on why a cherry tree isn’t producing fruit.

Quick tips for clean cuts

Use sharp, clean pruners and saws.
Cut just outside the branch collar, the slightly swollen ring at the base of the branch.
Prune on a dry day with a dry forecast.
Remove and dispose of diseased wood rather than leaving it under the tree.

Choosing a new cherry? Our guide to self-pollinating cherry trees lists varieties that fruit without a partner. For other fruit trees, compare our guide to pruning a Bradford pear.

Sources

Pruning and Training Home Fruit Trees to an Open Center, Penn State Extension
Pruning Cherry, UC Marin Master Gardeners, University of California
Why Fruit Trees Fail to Bear Fruit, K-State Research and Extension
Home Orchards: Why Is There No Fruit on My Tree?, Penn State Extension

Top photo: Gerda Arendt, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

When to Prune Sweet Cherry Trees (and Why Summer Is Best)