![]() ![]() Plums, cherries and prunes can be pruned now apricots, nectarines and peaches are best pruned in spring and pears do not like to be pruned at all. That is quite a long window - for apples, the entire winter season. The best time of year to do this is after the current year’s fruit has been harvested and before spring. ![]() This is where you will remove crossing branches, excess growth and water sprouts (also known as suckers). Secondary pruning consists of removing enough of the lateral growth to open the tree up some more. By removing the “leader” - the dense top growth - you will open the tree up to the sunshine and the wind, which will minimize disease infestation while ripening fruit more evenly. Branches should be evenly spaced around the tree and horizontal to the vase, not growing downward. Ultimately your goal is to achieve a shape that looks somewhat like an open vase. Once you have removed some of the old growth, stand back once again and study the overall shape of your tree. Do not use pruning paint or sealer as the tree is much better at healing itself without this stuff. Reach into the “heart” of the tree to do this, cutting branches where they meet the main trunk of the tree or secondary branches. Stand well back and answer this question: Does the tree have dense growth that shuts out the rays of sunshine that are needed to ripen fruit? Remove up to one third of the established growth using a quality pruning saw (for the largest branches) and lopping shears for growth up to five centimetres in diameter. You can accomplish this in a number of ways.įirst, some advice if your tree is several years old and hasn’t been pruned. As a professional orchardist would tell you, removing some branches in a mature apple tree will help to maximize its fruit-bearing potential.įruiting trees bear heaviest when they are pruned with an eye to fruit production. Another answer may hang in the branches of the tree itself. ![]() The answer may be that your tree succumbed to the late spring frost, as did so many commercially grown apples in Southern Ontario. ![]() Fran Lebowitz, Metropolitan Life, “Food for Thought and Vice Versa”Īs you ponder the fruit production on your apple tree, you may be wondering why there are not many apples to be had. “Food is an important part of a balanced diet.” ![]()
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