Fruit pruning, more crops: what Clemson and UF/IFAS say about plum, fig, persimmon, citrus and blueberry

This page reports what five extension sheets say about five more fruit crops. It is not training and does not teach the work. It adds to the guide on fruit tree pruning by crop, which covers apple, pear, peach, apricot and cherry. Each sheet is written for its own region, Clemson for South Carolina and the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences for Florida, and neither is a law or a standard.

The five crops side by side

Crop and source	How much pruning the sheet describes	Timing and cuts it names
Plum: Clemson HGIC 1358	Dormant pruning that differs slightly from peaches. Thinning cuts that leave outward-growing branches are needed to spread the upright form so sun reaches the inner canopy and fruit spurs.	Begin dormant pruning after February 1 to reduce bacterial canker infection. After the first growing season the sheet says heading cuts should be avoided.
Fig: Clemson HGIC 1353, updated October 27, 2025	Little pruning, enough to hold growth within bounds, keep the crown open to sun and air and remove dead wood.	Winter, preferably after the coldest weather and before spring growth. From the second year, to get more branching the bush is headed back each spring by removing one third to one half of the annual growth.
Persimmon: Clemson HGIC 1357, updated December 5, 2025	Minimal: dead or injured branches and crossing branches.	No timing is given on the sheet.
Citrus: UF/IFAS HS132, Citrus Culture in the Home Landscape	Mature trees do not need canopy pruning for production or health except after substantial injury from disease or freeze. The sheet says unnecessary pruning often reduces fruit production and that more severe canopy removal reduces cropping more.	Suckers are removed from the base during early development. The sheet says to cut flush with the trunk or surface, because stubs may be attacked by rotting organisms.
Blueberry: Clemson HGIC 1401, updated March 28, 2023	Pruned severely enough to encourage vigorous new growth every year, since fruit comes on one-year-old wood. Rabbiteye plants need less pruning than southern highbush.	Dormant season for young plants, and immediately after harvest for older plants. Southern highbush are pruned annually, with late winter most desirable, especially in the mountains.

Plum and fig

The plum sheet says its pest problems are similar to peach and that brown rot is the most common disease, black knot a warty growth on limbs, and bacterial canker a risk that can be reduced by using selected rootstocks. It says plum varieties are usually budded to peach rootstocks. The fig sheet gives a fig height of 15 to 30 feet, says severe pruning can restrict a fig to a manageable height since it tends to grow wider than tall, and says most cultivars bear two crops a year, a light one in early summer on wood grown the season before and a second in mid or late summer on wood grown that season. It says the tree form is not practical for the mountains and Piedmont of South Carolina and describes a bush form that is renewed by choosing one of the suckers that arise each year.

Persimmon and citrus

Clemson separates the native persimmon, Diospyros virginiana, from the Oriental persimmon, D. kaki, and says a mature native tree may reach 30 to 40 feet. The UF/IFAS sheet puts the citrus advice in terms of purpose: canopy pruning is reserved for keeping trees from crowding other plants, buildings or open space, and the minimal amount needed to reach that goal is what the sheet describes. The sheet's remark about flush cuts is its own wording, and the sheet does not mention a branch collar.

Blueberry

Clemson describes the work by the plant's habit. On young plants it names removing lower twiggy growth, dead or damaged shoots and weak, spindly growth. On mature rabbiteye plants it says up to seven canes are left each year, with the oldest or largest cane removed each winter from the fifth year, to open the centre and let new canes replace old ones. For southern highbush it describes removing low spreading branches and branches growing through the centre, and tipping long fruiting shoots so no more than four to six flower buds remain. It says highbush plants generally reach peak production at 8 to 10 years. At planting it says to prune away two thirds of the top growth on bare-root plants and one half on potted plants.

What these sheets leave out

No grape or bramble berry sheet was opened and read for this page on October 9, 2026, so grape, raspberry, blackberry and quince are not covered. The northern and western sheets on the earlier fruit page give other dates and shapes for the crops they cover.