pruning apple trees

[peta grimes]

I have 3 apple trees, one of which had a very large quantity of small,
green, not very tasty apples. (I tried to make them into apple jelly, and
they wouldn't even jell - anyone want some apple syrup?). This tree has
branches coming all the way down to the ground. I think it needs cutting
back, but dont know what to cut or when. Can someone tell me about pruning
apple trees?

[Fred]

Hi:

I asked the same question a few months ago, and received a very good and
to-the-point reply from Chris Owens on this NG. Here it is, with thanks and
credit to Chris:

"Wait until they have lost their leaves this fall. Then, in the
following order:

1. Prune out the upper of all crossed branches.
2. Prune out any branch pointing into the center of the tree.
3. Prune off any branch at less than 30, or more than 60, degrees to
the parent branch.
4. Prune off all branches on the inner 1/2 of the parent branch.
5. Prune all terminal branches to a maximum of 12"."

Hope this helps,

Fred

peta grimes <pgr...@home.com> wrote in message
news:DY_V3.24280$Ec1.2...@news1.frmt1.sfba.home.com...

[Sherwin Dubren]

There are no special rules for pruning apple trees as compared to other fruit
trees, but you probably want to prune them when they are dormant, say after
they drop their leaves in the late fall or again early the next spring.
Pruning will probably not
improve the flavor of the fruit. You may be able to get larger apples if you
thin them
out at an early stage when they are very small. The tree will then spend more
energy in producing less but larger apples. I would recommend either replacing
the
trees with a good tasting variety or doing some grafting of wood (scion) from a
known good tasting apple tree. There are various techniques for doing this,
but of
course it takes time and patience. I belong to Midfex (Midwest Fruit
Explorers) and
you can get more information about grafting, etc. on our web site -
www.midfex.org.
If you do cut branches, pick ones that are growing towards the center of the
tree or
crossing other branches. Don't overcut the main or leader branch unless you
want a short squatty tree. You can cut the lower branches quite close to the
trunk to improve the shape of the tree.

Good Luck,
Sherwin Dubren

[dr-...@execpc.com]

----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----
<she...@concentric.net>

Subject: Re: pruning apple trees
Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1999 18:07:11 GMT

I wrote asking for information on dwarf (non apple) varieties and a few
other things. Nobody has responded. You or do you know somebody knows
their stuff about dwarf rootstock and sources of dwarf trees? Ingrid

Sherwin Dubren <she...@concentric.net> wrote:
I belong to Midfex (Midwest Fruit
>Explorers) and
>you can get more information about grafting, etc. on our web site -
>www.midfex.org.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
dr-...@execpc.com in the Frozen Tundra zone 5 sorta
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
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[Thomas Bjorkman]

In article <38319e1c$0$13...@news.execpc.com>, dr-solo@execpc-dot-com wrote:

> I wrote asking for information on dwarf (non apple) varieties and a few
> other things. Nobody has responded. You or do you know somebody knows
> their stuff about dwarf rootstock and sources of dwarf trees? Ingrid

A new fact sheet is available with some of the most thorough information
you cna find:
<http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/hort/breeders/appleroots/Factsheets/FSAccess.htm>
--
Thomas Björkman
Dept. of Horticultural Sciences
Cornell University