How to prune sloe

Late winter to early spring, before bud break (February–March); avoid pruning in summer to reduce silver leaf disease risk. Use loppers or pruning saw on mature wood. Remove suckers at ground level. Open up the centre by cutting out crossing branches. Shorten the previous season's laterals by one-third to a fruiting spur. Wear thick gloves — the thorns are vicious.

Annually. Sloe (Prunus spinosa) benefits from annual pruning to maintain an open, manageable shape and improve berry yield. Left unpruned it forms dense, suckering thickets. Remove crossing, dead, and diseased branches, and cut back the previous year's growth by about a third to encourage fruiting spurs.

Use loppers or pruning saw on mature wood. Remove suckers at ground level. Open up the centre by cutting out crossing branches. Shorten the previous season's laterals by one-third to a fruiting spur. Wear thick gloves — the thorns are vicious.