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Pruning/restructuring my 80-90(?) year old apple trees

PowerfullyStormyPowerfullyStormy Posts: 4
in Problem solving
Hello everyone, I'm hoping I could get some advice from you today if possible! I moved into my new house last year and now own these two lovely apple trees in the garden. We estimate they were planted when the house was built or not long after, so possibly around 80-90 years old.

The apple trees produced a lot of fruit last year, however the stems are very, very tall and there's not a great deal of space inside the trees either when it has foliage. 

I need to remove an arm or two from each tree (one for the neighbour and one lower one to lengthen the sun we get in the evening) and I also need to bring the height down and do some proper pruning for light and air to get in. 

Should I do the restructuring first and can this be done by myself with a saw to take off the arms? Or should I get somebody in to prune properly and bring the height/size down?

Or, am I on the wrong path completely and perhaps you have another suggestion :) Thank you in advance! P.s. The apples are delicious.


Posts

  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    It looks like they have been heavily pruned in the past which has produced all the thin branches. Another heavy prune would repeat the same mistake.
    The general idea is to remove any dead stuff, any crossing branches and open up the interior. With trees this size you would need to spread this work over several years. At most I would reduce one third of the thin branches to one third of their current length then repeat for the next two years.
    When it comes to removing large branches take care to remove as much weight as possible before tackling the large section. Use a proper pruning saw and use the undercut technique to avoid tearing the bark. It may be safer to remove it in several smaller sections. There are lots of videos on youtube etc. which will help with technique.
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    edited February 2021
    All of that vertical growth at the top is the results of 'water shoots' caused by the previous pruning.  Pruning an apple tree in the winter will stimulate strong growth, which is not what you want.  I suggest waiting until late summer and then thinning some of that top growth by removing some vertical stems completely and cutting others back to 2 or 3 buds/sets of leaves.  This will let more light in to the centre as well as encouraging more fruit on the shortened ones (which you have effectively made into fruiting spurs.)
    This type of pruning should be done over 3 summers, never removing more than 1/3rd of the vertical shoots per year.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • PowerfullyStormyPowerfullyStormy Posts: 4
    edited February 2021
    steephill said:
    It looks like they have been heavily pruned in the past which has produced all the thin branches. Another heavy prune would repeat the same mistake.
    The general idea is to remove any dead stuff, any crossing branches and open up the interior. With trees this size you would need to spread this work over several years. At most I would reduce one third of the thin branches to one third of their current length then repeat for the next two years.
    When it comes to removing large branches take care to remove as much weight as possible before tackling the large section. Use a proper pruning saw and use the undercut technique to avoid tearing the bark. It may be safer to remove it in several smaller sections. There are lots of videos on youtube etc. which will help with technique.
    Thank you, steephill! I will bear all of that in mind. I knew about the 3 year rule so luckily I didn't go in all guns blazing! Would you recommend bringing a 3rd of the branches down now or wait until later in the year?

    Could I ask what you mean by removing as much weight as possible? I'm guessing along the lines of taking as much off of the branch in advance of the final cut on the trunk? I will take a look at YouTube, thank you. Is there anything I need to put on the 'open wound' to protect the tree?
  • PowerfullyStormyPowerfullyStormy Posts: 4
    BobTheGardener said:
    All of that vertical growth at the top is the results of 'water shoots' caused by the previous pruning.  Pruning an apple tree in the winter will stimulate strong growth, which is not what you want.  I suggest waiting until late summer and then thinning some of that top growth by removing some vertical stems completely and cutting others back to 2 or 3 buds/sets of leaves.  This will let more light in to the centre as well as encouraging more fruit on the shortened ones (which you have effectively made into fruiting spurs.)
    This type of pruning should be done over 3 summers, never removing more than 1/3rd of the vertical shoots per year.
    Thanks for your response, Bob! I was aware of water shoots beforehand and assumed that's what these must be. A neighbour said the whole tree was cut right down a few years ago so that explains it! I hadn't thought about doing it in the summer as my research mainly said winter, but that makes sense :) I will not do more than a 3rd! I do suspect I'll need some big ladders :smiley:
  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    I would take off the big limbs now and leave the thin ones till summer as Bob suggests. A telescopic pruner and a ladder will help in removing the thin branches. I have a Wolf Garten one which gives me plenty of reach but does need a bit of muscle to manouver around the branches.
    Take off weight by removing any branches coming off the major limb first then remove in sections if it is big and heavy - less damage to the tree and possibly you!
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    Agree, take any large limbs you don't want (and any dead wood) off now as large cuts need to be done while the tree is dormant.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • PowerfullyStormyPowerfullyStormy Posts: 4
    edited February 2021
    steephill said:
    I would take off the big limbs now and leave the thin ones till summer as Bob suggests. A telescopic pruner and a ladder will help in removing the thin branches. I have a Wolf Garten one which gives me plenty of reach but does need a bit of muscle to manouver around the branches.
    Take off weight by removing any branches coming off the major limb first then remove in sections if it is big and heavy - less damage to the tree and possibly you!
    BobTheGardener said:
    Agree, take any large limbs you don't want (and any dead wood) off now as large cuts need to be done while the tree is dormant.
     I appreciate both of your responses and for taking the time to explain – thank you!
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