Crab Apple Pruning

[TonySoprano]

I have a young golden Hornet crab planted last year , it has a forked trunk. Should I prune it to one central leader or just leave it ?.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I'd prune it to one leader. Severe crotch angles like that will lead to splitting later with fruit loads on the tree. I did that with all of our apple & crab trees, which gave us good results. One camp member even told me I'd kill the one tree by pruning off the other leader. It's been a beautiful tree ever since my pruning. Big, tall & well-shaped.

I learned that method from others on this forum, some of whom don't post anymore, sadly. The credit is theirs.

 

[Barndog56]

I'd remove the one on the right side. If there aren't any branches above the fencing you can notch right above an existing bud to promote branch growth.

 

[bigboreblr]

I'd remove the right one too. Look up notching an apple tree. You can make a lateral branch appear where you want to.

Make some of those notches at 4 to 5ft. Then prune the leader 2 feet above that. Where you prune that leader is the next step of lateral branches. LEave it too tall and there's a long run between branches.