Hah! That Little Basturd Shrimp Albert is the best named bantam ever!
Really got a kick out of that
I don't remember where this came from exactly, but, it seemed to make sense at the time and has worked well with fruit trees when I bother...
anyway, the pruning tip was--generally best to prune when 'dormant' for a variety of reasons and that the timing of quasi-dormant pruning can be used to stimulate or discourage growth--as far as encouraging branching and growth best to prune in late winter/early spring just prior to breaking dormancy, whereas when the goal is more to limit growth, pruning in the late season as the tree is going dormant supposedly takes some of the exuberance out of the growth the following spring.
Tried that on a couple of rampant shrubs; cut 'em to the ground in the fall and nearly killed them. Took more than a few years for a come-back...
