Pruning for the Backyard Apple Grower
Proper Pruning
Spring will be here before you know it....or are ready for it. If you are a backyard apple grower, now is the time to think about pruning your apple trees. A properly pruned and trained tree lives longer and produces larger yields of better quality fruit. With just a few trees to prune, the better time to prune them is just before or at bud swell. As a general rule, pruning should be done before the tree blooms in early spring when all danger of frost is past. An exception is sweet cherry trees, which are usually pruned in August because there is less danger of bacterial infection.
Fruit trees can be trained to either an “open center” or to a “central leader” (see illustration on page 3). Fully dwarfed apples, standard and dwarf pear trees should be trained to a central leader. Semi-dwarf apple trees may be trained to either a central leader or an open-center crown. Standard apples, sweet cherries, peaches and plum trees should all be trained to the open-center system.
One-year-old apple trees are usually unbranched whips. You can prune the top at planting to the height at which the lowest limbs are wanted, usually about 30 inches. Pruning the top stimulates the growth of side branches. Your trees should be staked at planting, but if not, now is the time to add that stake. Six foot to eight foot T-Posts are best for home growers and are stable enough to keep you tree from blowing over in a strong wind.
Two-year-old apple trees often have several side branches. Prune them to a central leader and cut back the side branches to about one-half of their original length. Remove any broken branches and any that form an angel less than 45 degrees with the trunk. To increase production, keep the pruning as light as possible the first few years. Two-year-old trees often have large limbs growing low on the trunk. When these are removed, the tree is essentially girdled. Thus, it is a good procedure to reduce the branch to a 4-6 inch “stub”; remove the stubs a year or two later.
There are two types of pruning cuts you can make, thinning and heading. Thinning is removing an entire shoot, branch, or limb, back to the point where it originated. Thinning cuts are the ones you should use most of the time, because they tend to open up light channels throughout the tree. Heading is removing part of a shoot, branch, or limb, up to 1/3 to 1/2 of its length. Heading cuts encourage growth of side branches at the point of the cut, from the part of the branch that remains. Heading should be used primarily for establishing branches in young trees. Leaders or future scaffold branches can be headed to cause laterals to branch out. In most cases heading should be avoided, as it can result in a tree overcrowded with shoots that close off light channels and reduce productivity. When heading is necessary, such as to shorten and stiffen up a long bare branch, make the heading cut into older wood, as this results in less regrowth.
Maintenance the first few years after planting includes the removal of diseased, broken, or insect-injured branches and any “water sprouts” not needed to replace other limbs.
Remove branches which make very narrow angles with the main trunk while the tree is young. If allowed to grow to a productive age, such limbs usually break out, often splitting the entire tree. (WSU Extension Bulletin)
Pruning for Central Leader
To train trees to a central leader, choose a vigorous shoot high on the tree the first late winter or early spring, before bud swell, after planting. Cut off the top inch to stimulate branching if it is 2 feet long or longer. Head all other vigorous shoots more severely. Repeat the process in the following two seasons so that no side branches become vigorous enough to compete with the central leader. (Washington State University Extension Bulletin)
When large limbs are to be removed, first reduce them to a 6-8 inch stub and then remove the stub. Make the first cut about one-half way through the underside of the limb and approximately 8 inches from the main trunk. Complete the cut from the top side (about 6 inches from the trunk) and then remove the stub by sawing it flush with the trunk from the top side. It is not necessary to use wound dressings on any size wounds. In fact, recent research indicates that such dressings are often more harmful than beneficial.
Thin out more shoots toward the end of a well-pruned branch in a mature tree. This will increase fruit size and quality on the remaining shoots. (Washington State University Extension Bulletin)
To maintain fruitfulness of lower limbs, cut upper limbs back to more upright branches. (Washington State University Extension Bulletin)
Pruning any fruit trees is really as much an art as it is a science. If it6's your first time, don't worry....if you make a mistake, odds are it will grow back and you can correct it the next season. The worst mistake you might make is not pruning at all! And if in doubt, prune it out.
For a more detailed illustration of pruning techniques and a year by year diagram, you can download "Pruning Open Center and Central Leader Trees" in PDF format.
For detailed instructions on the concept of Renewal pruning, you can download this instructional article "The 1-2-3 Rule for Renewal Pruning" by Bas van den Ende who was a research scientist with the Victorian Department of Agriculture, Australia, for 30 years, specializing in the management and production of fruit trees.
Home Orchard Management @ Royal Oak Farm Orchard
Home Orchard Management @ Royal Oak Farm Orchard is a blog for the home fruit tree grower providing information about fruit tree management, fruit tree pruning & training and Integrated Pest Management from the IPM Specialist and Certified Nurseryman at Royal Oak Farm Orchard, a 20,000 tree apple orchard and agri-tourism operation located in Harvard, Illinois.
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