After you are done spraying the outer canopy, you re ready to get out from under there and work on the rest. Once you are done cleaning, be sure to fully and thoroughly clean off every bit of equipment you used, including your clothes. Don t include the clothes you wore while spraying in the rest of your family s laundry. These are quite easy to recognize. Usually they don t bear any fruit, and might be misshapen or discolored. Don t hesitate at all in chopping these guys off, as they are nothing but detrimental to the health of your tree. Sometimes a branch can be dead or diseased without making it too obvious. If this is the case, simply wait until the tree is flowering and it will become obvious by not growing anything. Another way to ensure your fruit tree's health is to watch out for pests. To help keep the pests away from your tree, try to eliminate places by your tree that pests might be living. Always look for old piles of brush, weeds, old leaves, or any other decaying matter where pests could be hiding. If you don't plant your fruit tree correctly, it could end up being very unhealthy. However, this is not the case. Altering the structure of the tree is known as Tree Training . This is a much better way to develop an alternate form for your tree. Pruning should be used to prevent diseases, prevent lopsidedness, and encourage healthier fruit growth. Pruning is also used to maintain the proper shape for the tree. What to Look for When Buying a Tree Although the process of growing and caring for a tree is generally challenging and even difficult at times, sometimes one of the hardest parts is choosing which kind you want. You have to choose between the many sizes, fruit, and other attributes. The different sizes include: dwarf, semi-dwarf, and standard. Contrary to its name, it isn t a plum but rather a larger type of cherry. Its tree is most recognizable for its strikingly purple flowers. Through the course of its flowering season, they usually change from deep purple to light pink. Either way, you ll probably be the only one on the block with such a colorful tree.