Topic: Is it too late to prune my apple trees

[davholla]

I usually prune them earlier in the year but I forgot.

[tricia]

I summer prune growing tips then, after the leaves have fallen and I can see what's what, I cut out dead or unwanted branches. I Googled how to do this a couple of years ago.

Tricia 

[galina]

Winter pruning is recommended for apples and pear.  Stone fruit, ie cherries and plums etc must only be pruned when they are in sap.  Spring pruning when the tree is just in leaf (or alternatively immediately after harvest but when the leaves are still fully green) for stone fruit.

There is a suggestion that for apples and pears summer pruning really encourages growth, but pruned is pruned, right?

Maybe at this stage in the year it really works out best to wait until the leaves are gone.  Definitely agree with Tricia that it is easier to see what you are doing.   

[davholla]

Thank you all, I want to encourage fruiting not growth as I only have a small garden and I don't want them to get too big.

[Russell]

I am a big fan of restricting the growth of apple trees, and I spent this afternoon tyeing-in this years shoots that I wanted to keep. I also shortened drastically those of this years shoots that I did not want to keep, in the hope that some of them at least might give rise to some fruiting wood. My main summer pruning was done in August but nothing is ever perfect and there are always a few bits I should have cut back then but missed (as well as a few I should have left but instead I cut- we don't talk about those). Better late than never.
Pruning during the dormant period, when the leaves have fallen, usually stimulates growth. If your trees are already the size and shape you want them to be then you should prune as soon as possible if you have not already done so.
When the time for next years summer pruning is approaching, do not be tempted to make an early start. If you prune much before mid-August, then you may easily stimulate a tree into unwanted growth at the expense of the following years crop.
Might I enquire what varieties of apple you are intending to restict. It is my experience that some sorts (e.g. James Grieve, Lord Lambourne) take to it quite well whereas others (e.g Bramley, Early Worcester) do not respond in a helpful fashion.

[Silverleaf]

Anyone have advice on pruning really old trees? I have three apples and two pears which I think were probably planted about 50 years ago when the house was built and certainly haven't been touched for at least 20 years.

I know I should cut out any diseased or dead wood, remove branches that grow inwards or cross over, and not cut off too much all at once. But they are pretty big and really I don't know where to start.

[Silverleaf]

I'm confident I can identify the varieties of two of the trees, but I have no real idea what the other three are. Any apple/pear identification experts?

The tallest apple tree is almost certainly a Bramley, it's got that big squat flattened shape with green skin blushed with red and a waxy feel. Very tart and keeps its shape well when you cook it.

Apple tree 2 makes a lot of small but beautiful red apples with a gorgeous fragrant appley smell and taste. The flesh is sometimes slightly pinkish and it's a sweet eating apple but with a good amount of sharpness.

Apple tree 3 is another eating apple which has suffered some serious damage - the main trunk has been girdled with wire I think, as there's a stump with rusty old wire around it and it's basically growing from a large side branch. The fruits ripen to yellow with a pattern of tiny red blotches and they are fairly mild-tasting (but still much tastier than flown-halfway-around-the-world bland supermarket apples).

Pear tree 1 is a Conference. I'm in no doubt about that. :)

Pear tree 2 is a dessert pear - large, pale green-yellow fruits with a lovely sweet pear flavour. I've noticed that the fruits often contain no pips, or the pips are small and white and immature when the fruit us perfectly ripe.

[gray1720]

Silverleaf, when my mother inherited some apple trees that probably hadn't been pruned for at least twenty five years, she did it over two winters - the first year she took out anything that was obviously dead, crossing, etc. Once she'd done that she left them for a few weeks, and went back and took a few bigger branches out to open the crown, once she'd given it a good coat of looking at.

The next winter, she could see where the tree was producing well, and take out bits from elsewhere - as the old manuals say, prune to a goblet shape.

Any help?

Adrian

[galina]

Silverleaf,  if you get the chance to attend one of the 'Apple Days', you often get a fruit identification stall thrown in for the entry price.  This is a real bonus for many who 'inherit' a garden with unknown fruit like yourself. However the queues for the expert tables can be long, so get there early.  Sometimes they limit to only two varieties and othertimes there may be a charge.  But the online bumf on the various events should tell you what to expect.   

[Silverleaf]

I wish there was an Apple Day near me!

[johhnyco15]

ken muir has an apple day 23/24 oct all potted trees at discounted prices got the flyer last week