Pruning Apple Trees
It’s time to prune the apple trees!
If you grow these wonderful fruit trees, the best time to prune them is now - in winter - or in very early spring before any new growth begins. Pruning not only helps to develop proper shape and form, but also encourages new growth, promotes high fruit yield, and maintains good tree health. At my Bedford, New York farm, I have many, many apple trees that are pruned twice every year. My arborists at SavATree visit each winter specifically to prune the larger fruit trees, while my outdoor grounds crew helps to tackle the smaller ones. And, every summer we see the wonderful fruits of all their labor.
Enjoy these photos.
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- I have many, many apple trees at the farm, and a good number of them are at least 50-years old, so they were already here when I purchased the property. This old apple tree is one in a stand of “ancient apples” that still produces abundant fruits each season.
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- Our friends from SavATree have been caring for my trees for many years. Danny Broglino is a 30-year veteran of SavATree. He has a degree in forestry and is also a certified arborist and pruning expert. Danny always wears proper eye protection whenever working. He also uses a hard hat, and gloves for maximum protection.
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- Danny explains the two main goals of pruning trees. On young trees, pruning encourages a strong, solid framework.
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- And on mature trees like these, they usually already have their shape determined, so it’s important to maintain their shape and size. Traditionally, apple trees were always encouraged to stay shorter, so apples were easier to reach.
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- I prefer hand tools, such as loppers and pole saws – manual tools that will give my trees a more natural appearance and shape.
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- This tool is a pole saw. It attaches to a telescoping pole and is used to prune branches at least an inch thick.
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- This is a pole pruner, or lopper, attachment, and a telescoping pole – it’s used to cut branches in high, hard to reach areas that are about an inch to an inch and half thick.
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- After all the branches are cut, they are gathered, neatly piled and then processed through a wood chipper to make mulch.
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- Danny cuts branches that are rubbing or crisscrossing each other, preventing healthy new growth.
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- Once a tree is pruned, Danny gives the finished tree a last glance to make sure nothing was missed. The end goal is to encourage good fruit production.
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- Here is a wheelbarrow full of more branches pruned from my espalier of dwarf apples behind my long carport. These branches will also be chipped and reused in the garden later.
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- Chhewang has become an excellent pruner and oversees a lot of the smaller tree pruning projects at the farm.
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- I asked Chhewang to cut them so they follow the true growth of espaliered trees. An espalier is a fruit tree whose branches are trained to grow flat against a wall, supported on a lattice or like these on a framework of wires. Chhewang eliminates competing suckers and unproductive wood.
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- Smaller twigs are snipped off with regular secateurs. Each member of my outdoor grounds crew has a pair.
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- The new growth should be pruned fairly flush to the branch from which it grew.
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- The idea is to leave slight stubs. By removing any more, the remaining branch has too much of an opening for disease to enter.
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- Dead branches, or those without any signs of new growth, are also cut, so the energy is directed to the branches with fruiting buds.
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- Here’s an old apple that remained on the branch. We had a very productive apple season this year.
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- Here, Chhewang uses a pruning hand saw for lower branches that are tougher to cut with regular hand pruners.
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- The espalier took a couple of days to complete, but it looks great.
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- Across the carriage road is the Malus ‘Gravenstein’ espalier apple trees. I love this crisp and juicy apple, an antique variety, which is wonderful to eat and great for cooking and baking. These, too, need a good pruning.
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- Chhewang only needs to do light pruning to these trees – they already have a wonderful espalier shape. They are also very healthy – they’ve grown quite a bit since the last pruning only six months ago.
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- On healthy trees, about a third of the growth can be pruned. Spur branches where the apple tree flowers and sets fruit are the most preferred.
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- After a few hours, these trees are also all pruned and cleaned up for the season.
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- I am looking forward to many lustrous green trees heavy with rosy red fruit come autumn. What trees are you pruning? Share your comments with me in the section below.
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