Is it to late?

[trampledbyturtles]

Planted 10 new apple trees May 16, ran out of daylight as the last one was going in.

Did not prune them at the time cause I thought the shock of just planting, then pruning would be harmfull. Then after some research they say you should prune the first year as soon as you transplant.

So is it to late at this point. They all look healthy, all had blossums, an will clip any if any were pollinated.

They are in need of some clipper care after closer inspection. Almost all look like they have double leaders. But mostly I was thinking about pruning up a lot of the lower branches. To start with.

Thz

 

[Turkey Creek]

IMO depends on the size of the roots at planting time and the structure of the tree. Personally I wouldnt let a double leader keep growing. I would wait till the late dormant season to remove the lower limbs if the tree is growing well. Everybody has there own take on pruning.

 

[trampledbyturtles]

Roots were all healthy looking on standard stock. Didn't prune any roots to fit them into the holes. Just made sure to dig them big enough to fit.

I water every 10days unless it rains. An they got sprayed for CAR during the peak bloom of spores.

Concerning the double leaders. Could a guy just prune what looks to be the weaker off shoot back, an then train it to create a main branch.
This pruning thing is new to me.

Im slowly working my way through every thread under the fruit tree forum.
Wanted to finish that before I started asking any questions, but I all could find was that it is best to wait for dormancy. But also that most people belive that first year pruning is also critical.