Hi Tui, how do you prune feijoa trees?

Hi Trevor, feijoas respond really well to pruning, they fruit on the end of the current seasons growth, so the more branches you have, the more fruit you will have on your tree. The best time to prune feijoas is after fruiting has finished, which is, depending upon which varieties you are growing, late March, early April. In frost prone regions you are better to wait until early spring before pruning. Once trees are pruned, this stimulates new growth and if you prune in late autumn, early winter there is a risk that the new growth will get frosted as it won't have had time to harden off before the frosts arrive. Remove branches that criss-cross over each other, low hanging branches if you need to get the mower around the tree, weak growth, trim back vigorous shoots by about one third, cut back to an outside leaf node to open up the tree so the flowers can be easily pollinated. Always use sharp tools and make sure the cuts are clean and the branches are not crushed. The Tui Team.