It can be rewarding to grow fruit at home.If you've been growing an apple tree to get maximum fruit production out of it, you should look into the necessity of Pruning.Pruning helps to create a healthier tree, stimulates growth, and produces larger quantities of fruit over time.Don't let your tree become disorganized as a result of neglect, take a few easy steps and Prune your apple tree yourself.
Step 1: Know when to cut back.
As soon as you realize your apple tree needs to be trimmed, it can be tempting to start.Prune at the right time to avoid damaging your tree.After the last frost, Prune in the first month or two of spring.Pruning can take place in the spring and summer.Pruning in the fall will cause new growth to die off from the cold of winter.
Step 2: Decide how much you need to trim.
A shade tree with poor spacing between branches is a healthy apple tree.
Step 3: The right tools are needed.
Tools are needed in order toPruning to prevent damage to the tree.The size of the branches you cut should be taken into account.Hand pruners are used for small limbs.Large branches can be cut off with loppers.If you want to cut branches wider than 3” use a folding saw.
Step 4: Know which trees need to be trimmed.
An apple tree that is a shade tree is an obvious candidate for trimming.Pruning should not be done on all trees.The tree should be at least three years old.Pruning can be done over several seasons for a tree.Young trees arePruning young trees is done to encourage a strong framework and starting shapeThePruning large or matured trees encourages larger, healthier fruit and maintains the overall shape.
Step 5: You have to get the right shape.
The apple tree should be slightly conical in shape, with more volume near the base than at the top.The sun will be able to reach more of the branches.You should keep in mind that you want to create a pyramid-shaped framework of branches on the tree.
Step 6: Pick your scaffold branches.
Apple trees grow with their trunk connecting to a central lead branch and then with scaffold branches that connect to these.The tree should have a few scaffold branches that don't cross and allow even spacing between them.The tree should only have a few primary scaffold branches.The rest needs to be removed.The angle of the scaffold branches is very important.A 45 to 50 degree angle from the trunk is what good scaffold branches have.The branch will break off if the angle is smaller than this.The tree won't bear as much fruit if the angle is larger than this.The scaffold branches of the tree are similar to a star or spokes on a wheel.
Step 7: "Suckers" need to be removed.
The shoots that grow near the trunk are called suckers.To encourage a good shape, remove all of the shoots from the main canopy.The only part of the tree that can be trimmed or removed is the suckers.
Step 8: Cut off dead wood
There are dead, diseased or damaged wood.You should remove dead or damaged wood as soon as you notice it.If there isn't any buds, remove the whole branch.If it has buds towards the base of the branch, make a cut above the bud.It's better for rain to drain off the stem rather than sitting on top and rotting the plant.
Step 9: Cut off branches that are growing downward.
There are branches on the apple tree that need to be removed.They won't be able to bear large and healthy fruit, and will take up valuable space and sunlight that other branches can use more effectively.
Step 10: Go down whorls.
In mature trees, whorls are locations in which three or more small branches originate from the same location.The branch is unable to support the branches as they grow because they are growing from the same place.Cut off the remaining branches from the whorl if you want to determine which is the largest and healthiest.
Step 11: The remaining branches should be Prune.
To encourage the stems to grow and develop flowers, cut back the rest of the branches by 1/3 of their length.To encourage a healthy shape, make each cut above an outward facing bud.