Common methods for pruning cherry trees include short cutting and slow pruning. On the basis of shaping, mild short pruning can help suppress the apical dominance of branches, increase the germination rate, and form more bouquet-shaped fruit branches. Lightly shorten horizontal branches and oblique branches on saplings, especially varieties with strong branching ability, such as Zaozi, Dazi and Maoba acid, which are beneficial to early flowering and fruiting.

On cherry saplings, moderately shorten the backbone extension branches and peripheral development branches. Generally, 3 to 5 medium and long branches and 5 to 6 leaf cluster branches can be produced; The middle branches in the inner chamber are moderately shortened. On varieties with strong branching ability, only 2 medium and long branches are usually produced; on varieties with weak branching ability, 1 to 2 medium and long branches can be produced. In addition to long branches, 3 to 4 leaf clusters can also be sprouted. Therefore, medium short pruning is one of the most commonly used methods for pruning backbone branches. This short cutting method is beneficial to maintaining growth advantages, increasing the number of branches, cultivating the fruiting branch group, and also promoting the growth of the rear fruit branches and delaying the speed of the fruiting part moving outward.

Severe pruning is mostly used to balance tree vigor, or to cultivate fruiting branch groups at the tips of backbone branches. Heavy pruning can strengthen the top advantage, promote the growth of new shoots, and increase the proportion of vegetative branches and medium and long fruit branches.

Extremely heavy pruning should only be used on one-year-old branches that are to be thinned out. That is, for overly dense branches that are to be thinned out, when there are axillary flower buds at the base, they should be shorted above the flower buds, and they will grow on their own after fruiting. Bare and then thin again from the base. Heavy stubbing can also stimulate the germination of latent buds at the base for branch renewal.

The effect of slow cutting is opposite to that of short cutting. It mainly slows down the growth of the tree, adjusts the number of branches, increases the number of fruiting branches and flower buds, results in earlier fruits and increases the fruit setting rate. According to a survey in Yantai City, Shandong Province, for trees of the same species, age and cultivation conditions, the number of branches of slow-growing trees is less than that of short-cut trees. After the branches of sweet cherries are slowly released, they can generally maintain the top advantage, increase the germination rate, reduce the branching force, slow down the growth of new shoots, and increase the number of bouquet-shaped fruit branches.

The effect of slowing down branches often varies depending on the growth, location and extension direction of the branches: for upright branches that are attached to the dominant part of a strong growing tree, the growth amount will be thickened after slowing down. Large, bouquet-shaped fruiting branches increase, but the growth is weak; the oblique branches growing on the Zhongyong tree have a small growth amount after being thickened slowly, but the total number of branches increases quickly, the branch density is larger, and the bouquet-shaped fruiting branches are relatively thick. It is strong and evenly distributed. Therefore, for sweet cherry saplings and trees in the early fruiting stage, slowly releasing some diagonal branches with moderate growth can effectively increase the number of branches, slow down the growth of the tree, and promote the growth of more trees. Bouquet-shaped fruit branches produce early fruit and early high yield; however, if strong, upright branches are slowly released on saplings that are growing vigorously, or trees in the early fruiting stage, these slow-growing branches are likely to grow more vigorously, thus causing damage. Subordination, disrupting tree shape and delaying fruiting years. On varieties with strong branching ability, excessive and continuous slow release of branches can easily lead to undesirable phenomena such as dense branches, poor lighting, and excessive movement of fruiting parts. Therefore, the application of slow release should vary from branch to branch and tree to tree.