Growing apple trees at home can be an incredibly rewarding experience, both in the process and the results. To maximize fruit production, pruning is essential. Proper pruning creates a healthier tree, stimulates growth, and produces larger quantities of higher-quality fruit over time. Here’s a comprehensive guide on the proper timing, tools, and techniques for pruning both young and mature apple trees to ensure a bountiful harvest.
Things You Should Know
- Timing: Prune your trees in March or April to avoid damaging branches or impeding growth.
- Shape: Shape young trees into pyramids, with 4-6 thick, primary branches emerging from the trunk.
- Maintenance: Routinely cut away dead or damaged wood, as well as any branches growing vertically or downward.
- Thinning: Thin out the fruiting buds so that they’re about 6 inches (15 cm) apart, and ensure only 1 fruit per bud.
Method 1: Timing and Tools
Step 1: Prune in Late Winter or Early Spring
Begin pruning after the last frost but before your tree starts sprouting new growth, typically from March through April. Pruning too early might weaken your tree during the coldest months, while pruning too late could damage it during its growth phase. If you miss this window, perform a light prune in late July or August. Avoid pruning in the fall, as any new growth will die off come winter.
Step 2: Use the Right Tools
- Pruning Shears: For limbs smaller than about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter.
- Lopping Shears: For branches that are about 1–3 inches (2.5–7.6 cm).
- Pruning Saw: For branches wider than 3 inches (7.6 cm).
Using a tool that’s too small for the job can damage the branch, while using one that’s too large might result in clumsy, improper cuts. Before and after pruning, disinfect your garden tools with isopropyl alcohol to prevent spreading diseases to the tree.
Step 3: Prune Based on Tree Age
- Young Trees: Prune more heavily to encourage strong structure.
- Mature Trees: Prune sparingly to ensure energy goes into producing fruit rather than upward growth.
Method 2: Training a Young Tree
Step 1: Shape Your Tree into a Cone
Aim for a pyramidal shape with a narrow top and a wide base. This shape allows sunlight to fall evenly through the canopy, promoting stronger, healthier limbs and generous fruiting.
Step 2: Lop Off Competing Leading Branches
The leading branches are the center, vertical branches that emerge from the trunk. An apple tree should have a single, stocky leading branch. If this branch forks, select the thickest and most upright fork, and cut away the other.
Step 3: Preserve Primary Scaffold Branches
Scaffold branches are the thick, primary branches that jut from the center leading branch. A well-pruned apple tree typically has 4-6 scaffold branches, growing in 2-3 tiers. Select 3-4 well-spaced, strong scaffold branches in your young tree, and cut the rest off at the base. Opt for scaffold branches growing at 45- to 60-degree angles from the trunk to encourage outward growth.
Method 3: Pruning a Mature Tree
Step 1: Prune Off Shoots Growing from the Base
Remove suckers, the unwanted shoots that grow near the bottom of the trunk, up to the base of the main canopy to encourage a good shape.
Step 2: Cut Off Broken, Dead, or Diseased Wood
Remove any withered, discolored, or snapped branches. If a branch has buds towards the base, make a cut just above the last healthy bud. Remove these branches at any time of year as soon as you notice them.
Step 3: Cut Off Watersprouts and Downward-Growing Branches
Prune away branches growing downward and sprouts growing straight up from the branches (known as “watersprouts”), which divert energy from fruit-bearing limbs.
Step 4: Prune Down Crowded Branch Nodes
“Whorls” are locations where 3 or more small branches originate from the same spot, common in mature trees. Cut away all but the thickest, strongest shoot. Also, cut away smaller branches in areas where branches are touching or overlapping.
Step 5: Shorten the Remaining Branches
Cut back the rest of the branches by about 1/3 of their length to encourage the stems to thicken and develop flowers the following season. Make each cut just above an outward-facing bud to encourage a healthy shape.
Step 6: Pluck Young Fruits to Thin Out the Clusters
Remove young fruits by hand so that there’s only 1 fruit per cluster of buds and each fruit is about 6 inches (15 cm) away from the next fruit on the branch. This helps the tree grow large, healthy apples.
Expert Q&A
Question: My golden delicious tree has a lot of straight upward branches. Should they be removed?
Expert Answer: Yes, you should remove them. Try to leave branches with a 45 to 50-degree angle from the trunk.
Question: My apple tree is eight years old and has never been pruned. It has not produced any fruit in the last two years. How do I prune it to correct this?
Expert Answer: Start by removing all dead, damaged, or diseased wood the first year. This will likely stimulate new growth and fruiting. You can prune for shape the 2nd year, but don’t remove more than 1/3 of the volume of the tree at a time.
Question: My apple tree has gotten very tall. Can I cut the top off?
Expert Answer: Yes, you may cut off the top, leading branch to control the size. Cut it to the next lowest branch.
By following these guidelines and expert tips, you’ll ensure your apple tree remains healthy and productive, yielding an abundant harvest of delicious apples. Happy pruning! 🍎🌳