Apple Tree Pruning Boot Camp
Pruning apple trees is an interesting gardening task. They are such prolific plants, surging up to meet the sky with great gusto, growing three stalks back where you cut one off last year. It takes endurance, stamina and a plan, or it can’t even be attempted, really.
I have only have 6 trees to prune and harvest from, but they keep me busy through March and April. I have amazing ratcheting loppers but even so, the sheer volume of new branches is overwhelming. Once they are cut off the trees they have to be burned right away, or rabbits set up house under them and when I do move the pile the baby rabbits find themselves exposed to all sorts of predators. I’m shuddering at the memory of such an event….I like to save some of the branches to burn in the fireplace during the winter because they smell sweet as they burn.
Pruning the trees makes harvesting much easier, and reduces the area to be sprayed with lime sulphur and vegetable oil. I’ve heard that if I prune in fall they will grow less but I haven’t found that to be the case with my trees – pruning at any time of year seems to trigger the growth of many replacement branches. The number of apples may be slightly less when I prune, but the quality is improved, with the apples being larger and having more pleasing shapes.
It’s pretty hard work, especially after a winter of sitting down and reading gardening magazines and books! Sort of an Apple Tree Pruning Boot Camp, guaranteed to whip me into shape in 6 weeks or less.
Hi Plant Lady,
I like your blog. I’m new to gardening and have no idea what to do with my little orchard that has one prune tree, one cherry and one apple tree.
You are talking about pruning. I had my prune and apple tree for two years now and never did it. The cherry tree is just a baby. Is is too late to do it now at the end of April? How is the best way to do it?
Many thanks,
Kayla.
Hi Kayla,
Thanks for the compliment :)
You don’t have to prune fruit trees – they will still produce fruit but it has been my experience that they produce very small and not very sweet fruit that tends to grow very high up on the tree, making it hard to harvest. A really dense tree has more spots for insects, bacteria, fungi and molds to hide in as well, making those things more challenging to deal with if they occur. I also find the tree is easier to maintain if it has less branches and height, just less surface area to cover!
I guess it depends on where you live whether or not there is still time to prune. Technically you could prune at any time but sometimes the trees sulk and don’t bloom and/or don’t fruit if you prune as they are starting to flower. So, I think you should probably wait to prune until the late fall or early winter if you are seeing buds or flowers now, but you can still plan what you will prune at that time and get prepared.
The Plant Lady