3rd leaf apple tree pruning

[yoteslayer]

Would it be ok to trim back all branches under 4ft from the ground back to the central leader? Or should you let the branches 12"-48" high grow horizontally?

 

[H20fwler]

My fruit trees are for wildlife so I do, then I put a good glob of TreeKote over the scar. You just don't want to remove over 25-35% of the total branches. The best time to trim branches you don't want is when they are young, your third leaf should really start putting on the top growth now. I even start training my little grafted tree's right off the bat rubbing off the low stuff as it buds so growth goes to what I want.

 

[Native Hunter]

I like for my scaffolding limbs to start at four feet or possibly a tad higher - but no lower.

 

[PoorSand]

The snow can get pretty deep here in some winters, so right or wrong, I prune all my young trees to central leaders and try not to let any branches develop below about six feet above ground level. I try to prune them towards the end of winter and again during late spring when they start to grow new side branches. I'm no pro though. My mindset is just that I don't see any point in letting my trees invest their resources in growing wood that I will cut off a few years later. Because the leaders grow so fast when all the tree's resources are focused on them alone, a small percentage of my trees end up spindly and needing to be tied off with rope to the sides for support for a year or two. I don't mind that, but that could be a consideration for someone else.

 

[Apple Junkie]

I like Natives suggestion to have branching to begin around the 4’ mark. That said, you don’t have to get there in one year. One big consideration before pruning everything back below the 4’ mark is the size and balance of your tree now. H20 pointed out you don’t want to cut back more that 30% of your leaf area at one time - good advice. Personally, I prune the some of the lowest branches each year until I hit the 4’ mark. It may take several years, but growing a well-formed tree is a slow process anyway. Just my two-cents.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

^^^ I do the same as AJ and H20. I learned from Maya, Appleman, and some Penn State profs to not go hog-wild. They advised to take it a step at a time, so you don't eliminate too much leaf surface for photosynthesis/growth reasons. I usually take off 1 or 2 of the lowest limbs in the early years, careful to leave other limbs above for growth. As I was told, you can always remove the lowest limbs later, once the trees are established and a bit bigger.

I try to end up with our lowest limbs at or above 6 ft. Your needs may differ.

 

[Charman03]

At 3rd leaf I’ve been pruning off those lower scaffolds, possibly some “crossing” branches on the next scaffolding which will now be my lowest. Then I go to the very top and usually cut anything competing with my central leader.
I have a chestnut crab that will be 3rd leaf this spring from turkey creek. It will be a good example so I’ll post some pictures. It was headed off for shipping and that lower stuff is coming off this winter.