Hi I've got a dormant apple tree with bare roots, the ground is digable, is there any reason i shouldn't do it?
Non at all unless you are flooded! :)
ok, the sun is shining and my tree is in the ground, is it ok to prune a couple of bits? i want to train it in a fan across a wall. where's my apples?
You don't mention what type of apple tree you have so I cannot be precise!
Personally I wouldn't do any pruning at this time of year I would let the tree grow on then around Aug/Sept then I would think about the training.
Around then more spurs will have been produced and you can decide which ones to keep/remove.
Plus the fact to prune now might mean you are cutting off potential fruiting spurs!
Patience is the thing that will suit them best at this time of the year.
Here is a bit on apple culture; http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Apples/Apples.htm (http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Apples/Apples.htm)
I was just about to say, I'm afraid I am not at all confident about pruning. I see all those diagrams with various bits of branch flying off in all directions, and it doesn't help me at all.
So glad you got some better advice from Tee Gee.
Glad you got the apple tree in though. I've got one 'heeled in' and I'm wondering when to move it to its final place. Maybe best to leave it be for now.
If it's bare-rooted, get it in ASAP. The advice I've had is to leave them unpruned for at least a season, as they seem to establish better if they still have the extra growth on them.