apple tree pruning my first time.

[DWestbrook]

Hi,

im inexperienced at pruning, but i have watched a few guys i have worked for produce some reaally nice work, although nowhere near the quality i have ground worked for, id like any opinions, comments, pointers on these, my first attempts for a paying customer.

 

Cheers

 

 

[Daveyboy]

Take out the dead, the diseased, the dying and the dangerous. No more than 30% to be removed in any one year -that's the target. But you just might have to go over the top. And take out any canker, crossing and/or rubbing branches too. It's a balance which you do in pruning to determine the amount of woody growth and size of next years crop.

 

Figure out if you're going to have a wine glass shape at the end of it or a central leader. Your first tree looks wine glass and the third a central leader - by the looks of it. The second is going to be odd because of it's location. Don't be scared to offer to take it out and plant a new one. What shape do you want? People get attached to their trees ("It was Grand-dad's and the apple was given to him by his Aunt Agatha" or some romantic notion about Robert of Loxley - weird, I know but wtf.) but when they know they don't last for ever... New trees aren't expensive.

 

Buds. There are two types - fruit and growth. You can reduce next years growth by rubbing off the growth buds ut you won't see them until February or so. It's a bit early for pruning. It is a job for a cold day because you're not supposed to interfere with the sap - infections get in.

 

If you can, identify the tree. The fruit gives it away but 99% certain it won't be grown from seed - all commercially sold/grown trees are grafted onto rootstocks. The type of rootstock determins the potential size and life of the tree. So don't expect a tiny tree on an M25 or a giant out of an M27. And if you can make a record, then you've got a days work every year. Make sure the scion is above the ground and not covered by wet grass - keep it clean.

 

Save the bigger branches for burning because the smoke they give off is brilliant. I've smoked sausages, hams, cheeses - and it's good on a barbie too.

 

Tons to know - you won't get it all in one post, i'm afraid!

Edited November 9, 2014 by Daveyboy

[DWestbrook]

Thanks Daveyboy,

These are after pics...so I may not have got them right at All!!..customer was happy with the shape, and how much tidier they were.

Generally they were pretty messy, so i headed in the right direction, I removed all the crossing branches and dead and rotten pieces of wood from previous pruning, and aimed for shapes that looked balanced according to the spreading stems.

I didnt know about the differing bud types so just cut equally around the bud forming branches on.

Interesting to note I got the timing wrong for discerning the bud types, thanks for pointing that out.

I think I read on the RHS website a while back that November was a suitable time to prune..can't be sure, but something stuck in my mind from somewhere.

[DWestbrook]

This is how two of them looked in the summer.

 

[Fredward]

Looks to me like you did a good job. Kept the curved horizontal branches, which is where the accessable fruit will be, thinned out vertical non-fruiting growth, reduced unwanted height, well chosen reduction points, ticks all the boxes. Often you need to be more drastic with fruit trees than you normally would, as they get left untouched for years. Remember it's a tree grown for production not for aesthetics, although they have come out looking nice too. The only suggestion is on the 3rd (small one) I would probably have taken off the lower branches, as they might be a pain for the customer when mowing the lawns.

[DWestbrook]

Thanks Fred

Good to know.

[Daveyboy]

Sorry to point it out but you've pruned it into the shape of a trampoline! How on earth....

[Daveyboy]

I'd go along with what Fred said.

 

Two other things have sprung to mind, one of which I think you've already done. Anything with crosses back into the tree - you can take that out. And the main reason why is the second thing. When the fruit appears, you need to give it light and air. So keep the tree 'open'.

 

New stuff - but it's more about fruit. When the fruits are half done, someone should go 'round managing them. Fruits happen as singles, pairs or clusters. And you need to give them the opportunity to grow nicely. So anything which hinders production should be dealt with. Clusters normally have one or two runts - they can go. Pairs are the same but where is the next pair? Anything interferring should go - you'll end up with no-apple if you don't.

 

Fruits can form at either the end of the wood growth or inside the tree - depends upon the variety. So regular visits, manage the customer too, and keep a record including a map. And if the fruit is truly great - you can buy any type of apple tree but hybrids do occur - then you could graft them onto appropriate rootstocks yourself and replant. Or prezzies to the owner and you'll have a customer for life.

 

Final point. That tree between the shed and the hedge is sentimental, isn't it? If the customer wants to keep it then explain what's going to happen to it long term. It's that romantic association again. Personally, i'd have it out and plant another but it looks nice, doesn't it?

 

Laters

[Peasgood]

In my opinion apple trees in gardens should look nice, bear a few fruit just so you can say it cropped and be high enough to walk under with a mower or small enough that you can mow around them.

Pruning should be to encourage replacement growth in order to keep the tree healthy and removal of unhealthy wood.

However I am a professional fruit grower and the above is no more than my opinion.

 

Further to that, without wanting to cause any offense, those trees look pretty awful (strictly from an apple growers viewpoint)

I find it very difficult to explain pruning at the best of times never mind based on some photos of trees I have never seen but I will give it a go. I apologise for pointing out faults but in the same way you don't take a car to a mechanic for him to point out the good bits.

 

The two big trees have been pruned in a way that encourages them ever upward, this satisfies the need to walk under with a mower but they don't need to keep going up. You are encouraging an almost separate tree/bush to develop on the end of each main limb, rather than a single balanced tree. You can see this particularly well in the first pic, each elongated limb could nearly be cut off and called a tree in it's own right.

It is the nicest shaped one of them and is nicely open centred, it is just the elongation of each limb I don't really like to see. (as a commercial rather than amenity grower!)

 

The big tree by the shed is just a big old tree that may just as well be left to it's own devices. The reason I say that is that to change it much would require big cuts being made and I find that to be a sure fire way of letting silver leaf in. Best left as big as it is.

 

The smaller tree is neither centre leader or open centre. It also appears to have almost spiralling crossing branches, I view that as a fault. I have to say I have very limited experience with centre leaders so can't comment with any authority.

 

Of the smaller remaining branches a lot of them have been reduced in length leaving a weaker side shoot. In my opinion it is better to reduce them by cutting them right off, shortening them in that way encourages them to stiffen and then produce stronger upright growth. Better to reduce them in number but leave them full length, they will then elongate naturally and "weep" over in a much more pleasing form. What you have done encourages zigzag growth which isn't so nice to look at and is difficult to manage in future.

I will say they look better than the ones in the neighbours garden.

 

I hope that has given food for thought rather than offense. I had decided not to reply in case it just came across as criticism, in the end I just couldn't help myself.

[Daveyboy]

I thought the first three pictures were 'after' shots!