Pruning a cherry plum tree

I have a healthy cherry plum tree which I brought to my present garden as a year old sapling. It is now about 3 years old and quite big. I can be patient about waiting for fruit but I am totally ignorant about pruning. Coming up from the main trunk, about 18" off the ground is a strong young branch , which is now mingling with the main tree foliage. I would like to remove it but am not sure whether A) I should or B) if I use my pruning saw, whether I should paint the cut surface with anything.
Should I trim the long thin branches at all?

 

As an PS on my previous post. Some years ago, one of my sons had such an enormous harvest of cherry plums, they were literally falling into the buckets and bowls. Obviously , stoning the fruit is out of the question but I washed them, cooked slowly, allowed to cool a little then just strained and left until all juice had collected.I even pushed the pulp thro' with a wooden spoon. The next day I just measured, the pulp put a lb of sugar to every pint and it made the most beautiful jam with very good setting qualities. Slightly tart but very tasty.

 

They are growing along the pathways around here and the maintenance people seem to just cut them back with an electric saw and then leave them. There is good foraging off them every year.

 

Thank you. Tomorrow I shall have a go with my pruning saw.Do you know how long they take to fruit? There was a scattering of blossom in the Spring but no sign of even one fruit. Do they need another member of the cherry to pollinate?

 

Hi
meant to be pruned in the summer late June – mid August.not the winter as you can get a disease in the cuts that havnt heeled before winter they are particularly susceptible to Bacterial Canker and Silver Leaf disease (a fungal infection). Both of these can cause death of branches and, in extreme cases, the whole tree.
Plum and Cherry take longer to start fruiting than say apples so sounds a its doing the normal thing for its age

Best leaving alone is my advice until 2015 @Wet in Wales

Spruce

 

Thanks for replies. Are you saying ,Spruce, I should leave the offending new branch alone until next June?

 

If my tree I wouldn't cut now I would of done earlier but on GC you will have several answers to your question , its your choice but Wet In Wales and we both know how that feels which helps to spread spores and the such like.

Spruce