Topic: Pruning apple trees

[deadbird]

Would value advice about pruning ELlisons orange~I can't work out if tip or spur bearer~¥it seems to be both ~ whether a consequence of bad pruning over years 

[goodlife]

It is 'partial tip bearer' (http://www.orangepippintrees.co.uk/apple-trees/ellisons-orange#featuresbox)...just as you indentified, flower buds will appear all over the place.
As for pruning...it is 'judgment call'...you either take 'traditional' take and ignore the 'tips', that will give you smaller yield but more regular shaped tree. OR you can selectively prune, shortening new growth more drastically  where is necessary but leaving rest..those with flower buds on tips giving you potential for maximum crops...but then your tree might not look quite so 'regular' and it will grow that little bit larger.

Is you tree big enough to produce enough fruit anyway? Perhaps loosing some potential fruits won't be a big loss? Have you got room for slightly larger and not quite so 'tidy' looking tree?
Or..you have third option..kind of medley of both..prune slightly harder every 3-4 years to shape the tree and allow some 'unruliness' more fruit otherwise.
 

[deadbird]

Thank you,that explains it! I pruned some branches short and left others but now have(had)6 fruits,on the ends of wavy branches
oddly the apples seem to be ripe,3 have fallen off with recent gales and are ripe
Am convinced autumns is early this year

I am obliged for your detailed reply ,am hoping to go on a pruning course when I retire,have not got the hang of it,have the same problem with a beauty of bath ,apples appearing at ends of branches

[strawberry1]

I have 14 large apples on my bardsey, 3 year old. It was grown from a maiden planted autumn 2011 and is a very strong specimen on an M26 rootstock. I lightly pruned last winter and don`t know how I will prune this year. 6 were on the ground today and taste pretty ripe but I made a load of apple sauce with them, it needed no sugar. It is too early, picking is meant to be september but I will have to be testing from now on. It certainly felt autumnal on the allotment this morning

I saw something on a tv prog about summer pruning. It made sense at the time but I cannot for the life of me remember what it was. I think I will wait to winter and take out crossing branches to maintain an open shape

I watched the professionals prune the apple trees around us last year and they just used loppers and took out a few branches, the trees are 16 years old and one on the far side is an elisons orange. I did not see any titivating fussy pruning going on