How to prune soursop

Late winter or early spring, or immediately after harvest. On young trees, cut the central leader back by one-third and select three to four well-spaced lateral branches for structure. On mature trees, reduce long shoots by half and remove only dead, crowded, or crossing wood — never remove more than one-third of the canopy at once.

Lightly annually; structural shaping in first two years. Soursop needs only light, targeted pruning — over-pruning stresses the tree and reduces fruit. Focus on shaping young trees in early years and removing dead or diseased wood on mature ones. Avoid heavy cuts as soursop fruits on current-season wood and is sensitive to excessive pruning stress.

On young trees, cut the central leader back by one-third and select three to four well-spaced lateral branches for structure. On mature trees, reduce long shoots by half and remove only dead, crowded, or crossing wood — never remove more than one-third of the canopy at once.