Appletree pruning

[Tazzo]

I have a quite a bunch of old appletrees that have always been pruned in the spring, which has left huge amount of unwanted summer growth..

So if I prune them in August, they are not supposed to put more growth, right?
I have also been told to prune no more than third of the foliage..
So my question is what if I prune more than the third, how does it affect the tree?
It will not bear fruit next year or even more fatal will happen?

 

[MiniOrchardDude]

If you prune in August the tree will still grow slightly but by that time you should not fertilize anymore which helps. This allows the tree to harden up before the winter.

Summer pruning is meant to control size/height and to promote new flower bud growth. So far I have only cut laterals or what some call side shoots from the main structure or arms. My trees are very short and so far only need to cut the laterals to promote flower buds for fruiting. I will end up cutting the main structure arms soon since the are now around 6 feet tall.

I believe but not sure that the 1/3 rule applies in spring when they are dormant. This is the technique I use for all my fruit trees. The apples have only been in the ground for 3 seasons and I did not need to take off 1/3. Most of the pruning was done early on to get the structure and shape bases on how the tree was growing.

Keep in mind some apple trees have spurs which are pruned differently. I have no experience with that type of apple tree.

Had 6 apple trees way back but removed them because of size. Bought the standard size at the local brick and mortar store. I knew nothing about fruit trees and struggled because the varierty wasn't best for my environment. I started over with the newer highly disease resistant varities. I got fruit with the brick and mortar trees but considering I had 6 trees at that time it was a total failure. Best learning experience in fruit tree growing I have had. Made so many mistakes but thats how I learned to prune fruit trees.

Here is a link to what I consider to be the best apple tree pruning video. This guys is great but not to many followers or views. Definitely doesnt get enough attention or credit for his experience and knowledge. Does a great job explaining and pauses the video for clarity.

This one is my favorite. This is part 2 search for part 1 to start.

MOD

 

[oneeye]

Pruning is best done in late winter while the tree is dormant, or in the early spring before new growth has begun. If you over-prune a tree, you may force it to divert all its energy into growing wood instead of producing fruit. It's one of the most common reasons your tree may not have fruit

 

[MiniOrchardDude]

I prune vigorous trees 3-4 times a year some even more. Mostly plums and peach trees. The only way a tree will not flowers is if you cut off all the flowering buds. Those new fruiting buds are created at the end of the current season ready to flower the next season. If you prune heavy the left over flowering buds will still blossom because that is what they are programmed to do. They will no convert to vegitatave buds because you pruned to heavy. People think that because they cut off all the flowering buds. I thougth that also but have learned the hard way the last 12 years. In addition it is important to fertilize to promote the creation of fruiting buds.

Its is important to understand the difference between vegetative buds and fruiting buds. I prune based on fruiting buds. Always try and save as many as I can. After fruit set I will prune again as a way to thin out the heavy fruit set. It is definelty a waste of energy for the tree but guarantes a excellent fruit set.

In adition I never prune my trees in late winter. This will be most likely based on you zone. You need to allow the tree to heal the pruning wound. It will not heal in my zone if I did it in the winter. I made that mistake early in my fruit tree growing. I prune heavy in the spring for structure maintenance.

When reading or watching a video, something that is usually never talked about is the location and zone. California makes sense for winter pruning because of the mild winter. In the midwest where I'm at it is definitely a no no. Keep your zone in mind it is very important to how you should approach any gardening techniques. Took me a while to figure that out because I would do what the YouTube vides said and never considered their location.

These are the pics of trees I contantly prune. This year I have pruned all vigorous trees twice already. Need to do it again but the humidity promotes gummosis so Im waiting a bit longer.

 

[oneeye]

I love your trees thank you for sharing your photos. I think you are right about location and prune timing. It's different according to where you live and what type of tree you are pruning. We prune our peaches like l bowl to make it easy to pick the fruit and spray the trees. We have to spray 4 times a year just to get a peach and topped trees are a must. Prune heavily in the Winter and thinning out the blossoms in the spring.

 

[oneeye]

Also before I forget I couldn't help but notice you are volcanoing your trees.

Volcano Mulching – Doing This Can Kill Your Tree – The Tree Care Guide

www.thetreecareguide.com

 

[oneeye]

It's not good for the tree if the union is covered with soil or mulch.

The union in a graft is a lumpy, raised scar that should be just above the surface of the soil or just under the canopy. It is caused when the scion and rootstock are united. The scion is the variety of the species that produces and performs the best. Google

 

[MiniOrchardDude]

Also before I forget I couldn't help but notice you are volcanoing your trees.

Volcano Mulching – Doing This Can Kill Your Tree – The Tree Care Guide

www.thetreecareguide.com

Yes I am very aware of that. At planting I build up the soil so the tree is elevated. This allows me to control the watering so the tree does not sit in a waterlogged hole. David Wilson covered this in a video and I started doing this ever since. All my fruit trees are done this way. It is probably not absolutely necesary but it also helps me build up the wood chips around the tree to keep the weeds at bay. If I planted at ground level I would not be able to build up the chips.

Here is a picture of how I now raise all my trees. The volcano is really the soil. The tree is at the proper soil level hieght.

 

[MiniOrchardDude]

It's not good for the tree if the union is covered with soil or mulch.

The union in a graft is a lumpy, raised scar that should be just above the surface of the soil or just under the canopy. It is caused when the scion and rootstock are united. The scion is the variety of the species that produces and performs the best. Google

Absolutely, if your soil level is above the graft you lose all the benefits of the root stock.

MOD

 

[Tazzo]

Thank you @MiniOrchardDude I'll watch those as soon as I have enough time

@oneeye Early Spring is when those trees have been pruned, but I was hoping them to not be so eager to grow as I want to size them down, if possible, as some of them have grown huge over the years.

Even early Spring pruning have just encouraged them to grow more those straight shoots even how little we have taken off from them. I have heard some varieties do grow more even with little pruning..


@MiniOrchardDude your trees look beautiful and very easy to take care of and pick fruits from
Mine are at least 10ft tall and the oldest.... haha, can't even tell, but they all do produce fruits, some year even too much, just the size is a problem.


But now I am at the point where I am thinking of hiring someone to do the job for me.. the more I look at my trees more overwhelming it seems to do it myself and with the oldest one I am not going to bother.. it can grow however it wants