February Pruning & Grafting Guide: Fruit Trees, Vines, Roses & Olives

February is the month where hesitation does more damage than action. Buds are swelling, sap is preparing to rise, and the quiet window for dormant pruning is closing fast. Miss it, and you’re suddenly pruning into active growth. Rush it, and you risk removing the wrong wood.

This is not the month for drastic experiments. It’s the month for clear decisions, clean cuts, and restraint.

On our land here in Portugal, February is when pruning finally moves from the notebook to the field. Olives, a fig, our ‘Gala’ apple tree, and a handful of young roses are all still waiting their turn. Nothing dramatic. Just deliberate work that sets the tone for the whole growing season.

If you’ve been standing there with pruners in hand wondering “Am I too late?” or “Am I about to ruin this tree?” — this February pruning guide is for you.

Understanding Timing in This February Pruning Guide

February is often the last safe moment for dormant pruning in Mediterranean and temperate climates. Trees are still asleep, but they’re waking up.

A fig and olive tree after winter pruning. February work focuses on balance and structure while trees are still dormant.

Pruning now offers three major advantages:

• Structure is visible. No leaves, no guessing.

• Energy loss is minimal. Sap flow hasn’t fully started.

• Healing is fast once growth resumes.

Wait much longer and you move into corrective pruning territory. That’s not wrong, but it’s different. Dormant pruning is about shaping the future, not fixing mistakes mid-season.

This matters most for fruit trees, vines, and olives. Citrus is the exception. More on that later.

What to Prune Now (and What to Leave Alone)

Fruit Trees and Vines Ready for February Pruning

These are safe, sensible candidates right now:

• Apples and pears

• Stone fruit (plums, peaches, apricots)

• Fig trees

• Grapevines

• Kiwi vines

• Roses (with restraint)

An old apple tree before pruning. Crowded, crossing branches and poor light penetration are clear signs that dormant pruning is overdue.

For all of them, start with the same framework before thinking about shape.

The “3 D’s” Rule

Before you design anything, remove only what clearly doesn’t belong:

• Dead wood

• Diseased wood

• Damaged branches

If a branch is crossing, rubbing, or growing straight inward, it’s often next. This alone can account for 70 percent of good pruning.

Stop there if you’re unsure. A lightly pruned tree always outperforms a butchered one.

An apple tree after corrective winter pruning. Heavy cuts like this are sometimes needed on neglected trees to reset structure, but most home orchards should spread corrections over several seasons.

Tree Shape Made Simple: Open Vase vs. Central Leader

You don’t need diagrams to make good decisions. You need intent.

Open Vase (Olives, Figs, Some Stone Fruit)

We use this approach on our olives.

The goal is:

• Light reaching the center

• Air movement through the crown

• Easy harvest without ladders

Pruning an olive tree from inside the canopy helps us see where light is blocked and which branches truly need to go, rather than cutting blindly from the outside.

What we remove:

• Old, unproductive wood

• Vertical shoots shooting straight up

• Crowding in the middle

What we keep:

• Strong outward-facing branches

• A lower, accessible canopy

We’re not chasing symmetry. We’re chasing function.

Central Leader (Apples and Pears)

Our ‘Gala’ apple tells a different story.

It was pruned two years ago and now shows:

• One clear central leader

• Two established layers of side branches

Here, the rule is simple:

The central leader must always be the highest point.

We thin side branches, not shorten them aggressively. The structure is already there. February is about maintaining hierarchy, not reinventing it.

Roses: Less Drama Than You Think

Our roses are still young. That changes everything.

At this stage, we do not:

• Cut hard

• Chase blooms

• Force shape

Instead, February rose pruning is limited to:

• Dead or weak wood

• Obvious crossing branches

• Thin growth from the rootstock or suckers

Heavy pruning will come later, once vigor earns it. Roses, like trees, need time before they need discipline.

Olives and Citrus: Where People Get Into Trouble

Olives tolerate pruning, but they don’t appreciate enthusiasm.

An olive tree before pruning. Dense canopies like this are common before late-winter maintenance pruning.

Common mistakes:

• Removing too much at once

• Chasing height instead of access

• Cutting productive lateral branches

Our rule: thin, don’t scalp. A well-pruned olive still looks like an olive. If it looks shocked, it probably is.

Citrus: Not a February Job

Citrus does not belong in the February pruning queue.

Reasons:

• Sensitive to cold damage

• Actively holding energy in foliage

• Better pruned after frost risk passes

If you must touch citrus now, limit it to:

• Dead wood only

• Broken branches

Structural pruning waits for spring.

A First Look at Grafting (Without Overcomplicating It)

February is prime time for grafting because:

• Rootstock is dormant

• Cambium layers align well

• Healing starts quickly once growth resumes

For home orchardists, two methods matter:

• Whip-and-tongue graft for young, similarly sized wood

• Cleft graft for top-working older trees

This is not the post to master grafting. It is the moment to decide whether you’ll try this year or observe and plan for the next.

If pruning is surgery, grafting is transplantation. Respect the learning curve.

Tools, Safety, and Clean Cuts

Sharp tools are not optional. They’re the difference between healing and infection.

February pruning basics:

• Sharp bypass pruners

• Clean saw for thicker branches

• Disinfect tools between trees

• Gloves and eye protection

An olive tree after pruning at the end of the day. Ladders, sharp tools, and fatigue management all factor into safe winter pruning.

A clean cut heals faster than a perfect plan executed with dull blades.

February Is About Direction, Not Perfection

This month isn’t about fixing everything. It’s about setting direction.

On our land, olives are being opened for light. A fig is being simplified. An apple tree is being respected, not reshaped. Roses are being observed more than corrected.

That’s February pruning done right.

If you’re unsure, stop early. Trees forgive patience far more easily than overconfidence.

And if you want deeper, practical breakdowns for each species, that’s exactly what we’re building inside the Tough Kraut plant library.

Herman’s Tough Kraut Fixes:

February pruning causes hesitation for a reason. You’re working in a narrow window where timing, restraint, and clarity matter more than enthusiasm. The good news is that most pruning mistakes are predictable and easy to avoid once you understand what the tree is actually responding to.

Q: I think I under-pruned. Is that bad?

A: No. Under-pruning is almost always better than over-pruning. You can adjust later. You can’t reattach branches.

Q: I see buds swelling. Am I too late?

A: Not necessarily. Light pruning is still fine. Avoid heavy structural cuts once sap is clearly rising.

Q: My olive tree exploded with vertical shoots last year. What now?

A: That’s a response to over-pruning. Thin selectively this year and give it time to rebalance.

Q: Can I graft and prune on the same day?

A: Yes, but keep them mentally separate. Prune first, graft second, and don’t rush either.

Q: What if I’m still unsure where to cut?

A: Walk away. Look again tomorrow. February rewards restraint.

Recommended Books & Resources

Books

• Grow a Little Fruit Tree by Ann Ralph

  The small-orchard classic for keeping fruit trees compact with smart cuts, so you harvest from the ground instead of from a ladder you do not trust.

• The Pruning Book by Lee Reich

  A calm, practical guide that replaces “pruning fear” with simple rules, solid technique, and the why behind each cut.

• RHS Pruning & Training by Christopher Brickell

  A step-by-step reference with an A–Z approach across tons of plants, perfect when you are staring at a rose or vine thinking, “What exactly am I looking at?”

• The Grafter’s Handbook, 6th Edition by R. J. Garner

  The deep-dive grafting bible that takes whip-and-tongue and cleft grafts from “mystery craft” to repeatable skill.

Resources

• FELCO F2 Pruning Shears

  A buy-once, cry-once bypass pruner with replaceable parts that makes clean cuts feel almost unfairly easy.

• Silky Pocketboy Folding Saw (170 mm, medium teeth)

  The pocket-sized saw that turns “too thick for pruners” into a smooth, clean cut instead of a chewed branch stub.

• Parafilm grafting tape

  A stretchy wrap used by grafters because it seals in moisture while still letting the graft breathe, which is a game-changer for beginners.

• Tough Kraut Resources

  Want the exact pruning, grafting, and tool-care gear we trust on our own Quinta? Click Tough Kraut Resources for a curated, SEO-friendly shortlist that saves you hours of guesswork and bad buys.