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Scott Smith: Bitesize tips and tricks for apple pruning time

The beautiful and rewarding sight of a well cared for Bramley’s Seedling apple tree.
The beautiful and rewarding sight of a well cared for Bramley’s Seedling apple tree.

As promised last week, I will round off today talking about all things apple pruning. I started but didn’t quite give out all the info I wished to last time.

The winter prune is a good chance to assess the shape of the tree and see its full outline without foliage. It allows a chance to assess where open and missing areas are, then tie in or train new growth to those areas.

It also allows a thorough check over of the tree for issues like canker. These might be missed in summer. Canker is fungal disease of apples that causes sunken dead areas of bark which can then spread systemically though the branch causing branch death.

Cut out back to healthy tissue and burn the affected stuff cut out.

Winter allows an overall shape assessment.

Summer thinning

Might seem a while away but summer thinning comes around fast! Thinning takes place in June after the June drop.

We thin the newly-formed fruitlets appearing from the pollinated blossoms to one or two strong fruits per cluster (remove the oddly-shaped king fruit in the centre).

This allows one or two large and healthy fruits than lots of smaller potentially inedible or bullet hard sour fruits.

It also lessens demand of the resources of the tree which in turn allows fruit buds to develop for next year.

This helps avoid the phenomenon of biennial bearing (where one year you get a bumper crop and the following year very little). Apples will fruit well every year if looked after and pruned properly!

Prune out any canker.

Summer prune

The final pruning stage is the summer prune around late August which is when we prune back all the big glorious foliage that has appeared on the tree from shoots of the non-pollinated fruited spurs.

The bottom third of the new shoots become stiff and woody. These are pruned hard back to two pairs of buds again so that the light and air can get in about the maturing, ripening fruit and it also helps the tree to redirect energy it was expending on foliar, vegetative growth into the ripening and development of the fruit.

The apple schedule

In short then: Winter prune in January/February, thin the fruitlets in June, then summer prune late July/early August. Lastly, harvest around late August to November depending on variety of apple.

During the course of the year keep an eye on your apples during times of drought. They may need a deep watering. Very dry conditions can cause cracking in apples that then rot or scab. These aren’t pleasant to eat.

Being very dry will also of course cause leaf curl, affecting photosynthesis. It may also cause fruit to drop off in an attempt by the tree to retain vital nutrient resources.

Stepovers can produce many apples in a small space.

Keep an eye for any pest and disease issues that may impact on the fruit. Codling moth larvae bore into apples and eating the insides which then partially rot. Leaving the apple very undesirable. Nobody wants to bite into an apple full of frass (polite name for caterpillar poop)!

Control these by using pheromone traps in May to stop males (thus reducing breeding). Use pathogenic nematodes sprayed on to leaves and stems and as a soil drench.

Bear in mind however that this is after they’ve left the fruit and so it’s a bit late for that year’s crop. It may help control against next year’s however. If spotted on this year’s crop, then an organic contact insecticide like natural pyrethrin’s can be used.

Feed and mulch

A good feed and mulch is always beneficial too. Well-rotted horse, pig, cow, chicken manure never go amiss. As long as it is well rotted (six months or so).

A deep water then a mulch is ideal. This is done spring to autumn but basically any time after leaf burst.

Avoid feeding prior to leaf burst or at early stages of leaf burst. This is because high nitrogen content causes sappy big new leaves. These will be vulnerable if there is heavy snow or frost abound (Scottish weather is unpredictable).

They will also be vulnerable to attack from sap-sucking pests.

Summer thin and prune leads to bumper crops.

Well that will do it for now I reckon. There’s certainly more to the humble apple than you might think. Bear in mind all the work and effort that goes into them next time you sink your teeth into that sweet, sugary flesh. Better still why not get out there and have a go at it yourself?

It’s amazing how satisfying it is to take that first glorious sun-kissed bite after all that work. Aye… it’s a gairdner’s life!

Take care and happy gardening.

Bramley’s Seedling.

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