Doing This One Thing to Your Fruit Trees Now Will Result in Larger and Better Harvests – Even if They Do a ‘June Drop’ Each Year

A gardener thins young apples with a pair of pruning shears.

Thinning fruit trees is an important summer task that helps you get the best harvests. It may sound counterintuitive, but removing small fruitlets means higher-quality fruits come picking time.

If you are growing apples, pears, plums, peaches, or apricots, thinning fruit trees between mid-June and mid-July rewards you with larger harvests and reduces the risk of branches snapping due to the stress of excess fruit. Up to 50%-75% of small fruitlets can be removed by hand or with small pruning tools.