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Apple Tree Pruning

JaneyBJaneyB Posts: 4
in Fruit & veg

I planted several young trees last winter and wrongly assumed that any neccessary pruning would already have been done by the nursary.

When the trees came into leaf in the spring the branches coming out from the main stem were bare for about three feet with leaves, blossom and fruit right at the ends of the branches. Needless to say the fruit weighed down the branches and needed supporting. clearly some drastic action is required.

I'm about to prune them but don't really know how to remedy the situation. any help would be much appreciated. 

Posts

  • Lion SLion S Posts: 263

    Janey, the best thing you can do now is look if you can find an apple pruning course in your neighbourhood. Preferably a course where also new trees are included. Courses are about to start around this time of year.

  • JaneyBJaneyB Posts: 4

    That would have been a good idea - just Googled it - the perfect course within a reasonable distance was today! Duh! 

  • JaneyBJaneyB Posts: 4

    Thanks pansyface. They are Discovery, James Grieve, Sunset and Tydeman's Early. I'll take some photos when i go up to the allotment.

    I can't help but think it's a pruning (or lack of it!) problem because the branches were about three to four feet of completely bare stem with a little bunch of leaves at the end.

    I was going to chop them right back to about a foot long but that seemed a bit drastic! 

  • JaneyBJaneyB Posts: 4

    Haha! Laptop upside down and I see what you mean!

    So I reckon I'll go in and cut them back by a third and hope for the best!

    Thanks for your help.

     

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