Hi, how do I prune a dwarf prince almond tree? Most tips are black and dried now, I have not harvested any nuts yet. The new leaves have holes already.

Hi Joseph, almond 'Garden Prince' is a dwarf almond and so does not require pruning, the only thing you would need to do is remove any branches that are criss-crossing over, or dead or diseased wood. If the tips are black then that sounds like disease which could be die-back. Almonds benefit from a spray programme of regular copper based sprays to help protect against disease, this will help with the holes in the leaves that sound like blast. The best way to control these diseases is cultural practices such as cleaning up fallen leaves in autumn as the disease overwinters in the soil. Maintain a regular copper spray programme through winter. Almonds are susceptible to the same diseases as peach and nectarine trees. Lianne.