Pruning apple trees: when, how hard and by type

You prune an apple tree at two times. The main pruning is done at the end of winter, when the tree is bare: for a mature tree March is the best time, in mild weather as early as February. Then you remove dead wood, crossing branches and water shoots and open up the crown, so that light reaches the centre. For a mature tree, remove at most a quarter of the crown per year. In summer, from mid-May to August, you only shorten new shoots and remove water shoots. You shape a young tree in the first three years in March, you rejuvenate an old tree over three winters.

Pruning apple trees by situation, form and variety

Young apple tree: the form in three years

In the first three years you prune not for apples but for a good framework. In March of the first year you cut back the leader to 60 to 75 cm above the ground and remove side shoots below 50 cm. In the second year you choose four to six well-distributed scaffold branches and shorten them to 30 to 40 cm; in the third year two or three side branches are added per branch. How this works step by step, you can read in pruning young apple trees. For a narrow garden there are compact forms: a spindle bush, a columnar apple, an espalier apple or a low step-over along the path.

Mature apple tree: winter and summer pruning

You prune a mature apple tree lightly every year. In winter you first remove dead and diseased wood, then crossing and inward-growing branches, and then the water shoots. Branches that have been bearing for years and now only produce small apples, you shorten to a young, strong side branch. What to remove and what to leave is in pruning mature apple trees and in winter pruning in January, including the saw cut in three steps for thick branches.

The two guides differ on the right winter moment. The guide for the mature tree recommends March, in mild weather February, and does not prune from October to February, because pruning wounds heal slowly in the cold. The guide for winter pruning chooses January, because there is no sap flowing then, and only waits for a milder day in severe frost. If in doubt, choose March.

Summer pruning slows growth and helps the tree make flower buds. From mid-May you shorten new, steeply growing side shoots to 10 to 12 cm, as in summer pruning in May. You tackle water shoots in July or August, preferably by breaking them off at the base; see removing water shoots. You spare the short fruiting spurs where the apples grow; how to maintain them, you can read in pruning fruiting wood.

Old or neglected apple tree

An old tree with lots of dead wood and few apples can often still be saved, as long as there is green under the bark of the trunk. Spread the work over three winters: in the first year dead wood out and open the crown, in the second year choose four to eight strong young branches and remove the rest, in the third year continue building up. The whole plan is in rejuvenating old apple trees. After a storm you remove branches that are hanging dangerously immediately, saw off the other broken branches after two to three days and wait with formative pruning until March or April, see pruning after storm damage; a tree with powdery mildew gets its own approach in pruning with powdery mildew.

By variety

Not every variety tolerates the same amount. You prune an Elstar and a Cox's Orange Pippin carefully, with Cox at most 20 per cent per year. A Jonagold grows strongly and tolerates more, and a Boskoop and a Belle de Boskoop can also take a firm winter pruning. With Ingrid Marie you shorten the scaffold branches by at most 15 cm, and the early varieties James Grieve and Discovery you prune lightly. If you are still looking for a place for a fruit tree, you can first try it out in a garden design of your own garden and see how much space the crown will take up later.

Step-by-step plan

Step 1: Choose a dry day at the end of winter

Prune a mature tree in March, in mild weather as early as February, as long as it is still bare. If you prefer to prune in January, wait for a milder day in severe frost, below minus 10 degrees. As soon as the buds break, you stop. Take sharp secateurs, loppers and a saw with you.

Step 2: Remove dead, diseased and damaged wood

Start with branches that are dead, broken or diseased. Saw them away to healthy wood or just outside the swelling where the branch is attached to a larger branch, the branch collar.

Step 3: Remove crossing and inward-growing branches

If two branches cross, remove the weakest. Branches that grow inwards or steeply downwards also go, so that the crown becomes open.

Step 4: Remove the water shoots

Straight, thick shoots that shoot upwards from the scaffold branches, you remove close to their base. They bear no apples and take away light.

Step 5: Rejuvenate the old fruiting branches

Branches that have been bearing for years and are now weak, you shorten to a young, strong side branch. This creates new fruiting wood.

Step 6: Count what you have removed

Look at the tree as a whole. If more than a quarter of the crown is off, stop and spread the rest over next year. Always saw thick branches in three cuts, so that the bark does not tear.