Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
I was at camp on the 20th of March to prune our apple trees. This was the first year I became aware of the advantages of training the apple limbs from early on. I remember reading from one of the apple experts on here (can't pin-point who), that establishing good branch angles and scaffold spacing makes life easier down the road. Pruning wasn't hard at all - the scaffold spacing and openness of the trees made pruning a simpler task. It was easy to get at the "straight-up" water sprout growth, the inward-growing stuff, and any straight-down shoots. Spurs were easy to avoid.
I should say that I won't be "pruning-crazy" every year, based on what the Penn State prof. told me about the lesser need to prune every year for wildlife apple trees. He said once branch angles and scaffolds are established, and the trees are about 6 or 7 years old, pruning about once every 3 years should suffice for wildlife apple trees. That's not the case for commercial orchards. I will keep an eye out for damage, crossed or rubbing limbs, etc., and prune those out whenever needed.
Once again - good advice I learned on here paid off.
I should say that I won't be "pruning-crazy" every year, based on what the Penn State prof. told me about the lesser need to prune every year for wildlife apple trees. He said once branch angles and scaffolds are established, and the trees are about 6 or 7 years old, pruning about once every 3 years should suffice for wildlife apple trees. That's not the case for commercial orchards. I will keep an eye out for damage, crossed or rubbing limbs, etc., and prune those out whenever needed.
Once again - good advice I learned on here paid off.
