Winter pruning can be looked at in two ways:  either as a chore, or as an opportunity to get out in the fresh air and have some fun with some loppers and a pair of hand pruners. 

I actually look forward to pruning each year.  Once I start cutting, I find I can't stop.  I start looking for more trees to work on, either at the homes of my family members, or out at the Master Gardeners' Demo Garden.

Pruning is like creating art to me.  I walk around the tree a bit, stare up at the network of limbs, branches and twigs, study the buds and their direction of growth.  Usually, I walk straight into a branch or two while looking up.  The neighbors must get a kick out of watching me, I'm sure. 

I'm pretty heavy-handed with the trimmers, but then fruit trees really need it.  But I don't cut hastily.  Each  cut has a plan for the future.  I leave some branches or twigs in case I need a replacement for one I think will fail or cease to bear fruit.  I trim for a balance of branches, but I also reduce the canopy to allow proper sunlight to the leaves and air flow for the health of the tree and fruit. 

Once I've decided what main limbs and branches will stay, then I start chopping.

All those watersprouts must go.  They are the long, vertical-growing twigs that suck up the tree's energy, yet never return to normal growth, nor bear fruit.  Ironically, hard dormant (winter) pruning encourages the growth of watersprouts.  Pruning them a bit during the growth season can reduce their occurrence. 

Next, I look for crossing or rubbing branches and eliminate the ones that are not growing in the direction I want.  I head back long branches that might get too heavy under a load of fruit, but I make sure to cut large branches or limbs at a branch collar, the swollen area where a branch