Pruning Philosophy.......

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I am keeping three identical apple trees for a tutorial of sorts. It'll be the story of the 3 little Kerrs. One will be virtually unpruned, one middle of the road, and the third will be agressively pruned. All will be central leader styled.

Seems there's little well documented story's on pruning. Like see the same tree every year. Almost every online nursery has minor to majorly conflicting advice. Wack it good, don't to let it fruit, only purne incorrect growth, etc....

Anybody see something well written or video taped? Any input on adivce for these 3 styles? Rootstocks are all Antonovka. These were the roostocks that got girdled from rabbits in the winter of 2022 / early 2023. All kerr's are 3.5 tall or so.

Was going to do with with M111 rootstock grown to adult size. However, they say m111 by itself is suspectible to cedar pple rust. Still letting one go to adult size just to see what happens.

 

[TreeDaddy]

I have "pruners elbow" from a busy weekend

Armed with the felco 2 classic, silky zubot, and fiskers loppers I removed water sprouts, dead limbs, inward growing limbs, and any rubbing branches

There is a helpful thread on pruning fruit trees

bill

 

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Got any success or failure stories / pictures?

 

[Apple Junkie]

It's always fun to see how pruning affects a trees growth. I love your idea of giving each tree a different degree of attention. When it comes to pruning, I find that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Like most, I shoot for a central leader with an open canopy. However, when I come across wild apples, I see that every shape and size seems to work and I wonder now if multiple low stems don't serve a purpose in protecting against buck rubs and serving to protect a central leader from being browsed off.

As for rootstock, especially up where your camp is, you might want to consider the P.18. I have Antonovka trees in the ground for a decade, bearing no apples yet. The P.18 is a full size rootstock, good for cold climates, that have produced apples in the second and third year in the ground, so my experience is that they are very precocious for a full size tree. The kicker is that mine have done well all soils, from wet to boney dry gravel with little topsoil. Good luck with your experiment... and don't think there is only one way to prune an apple tree, they tend to be very forgiving.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

My trees are kinda ugly. Most are over 20’ and I can’t reach them anymore for pruning. The bear and the raccoon usually pick a few each year to prune for me, then I just go back and trim what they broke. I have a couple trees that get really bushy, and if I prune them much, they get even more bushy. Not sure the best thing to do with them. But they produce apples, and I guess that is the unlimited goal. This year my orchard needs to be pruned, I alternate years, yard apple treees one year, orchard the next.

Although I am not sure if the deer are that scarce here, or if they had to many people baiting them with corn, too many acorns, or if the deer no longer like apples, but I have a ton of apples in the ground, and very few tracks. So at this time no more apple trees.

 

[CrazyEd]

I would be curious to see your results, but I find each tree has it's own personality. No two are alike. Could be the same scion and same rootstock, but some are more vigorous than others.

Pruning for me is like choose your own adventure novel. The best way to learn is to get the pruners out and observe your trees year after year for many years.

I strive for strong branches with good crotch angles, I don't mind 90 degrees. Since most of my trees are under 10 years old I strive to just keep them growing UP & OUT. Try to keep the middle open, sun and air flow to the middle is important. Remove dead wood. And I try to avoid forking branches. I try to have branches looking like my leader - central leader style.

 

[Telemark]

I think pruning trees is like many other undertakings in that it's difficult to know what to do before you have a goal. It's the goal that dictates the process. I want the lowest limbs relatively high on the tree, and I want strong scaffold branches. That means clipping the lower branches as well as the tips of the higher branches. Never more than 25% of the tree in a year. Prune in winter until the desired size is reached, then prune in summer. Pluck all flowers and fruit the first two years the tree is in the ground. That's generally how I do it. Deer damage generally upend that plan though.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

So when your trees are 20-30 feet tall, do you guys still prune every year? I kinda gave up once they got about 15 feet or so. Which was about year 4.

 

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My 1st year at my old house, apples tree got one cut. I took s chsinsaw and removed the top 10 feet off. After a years rest they were full of apples. My guess they were 12 year old trees completely unpruned.

LIkely cant get up north before ground freezes again. But would transplant 2 30-06's on b118. Think b118 would survive up there.

Would love to try P18 and G890. Got anty and m111 coming. Grsfted trees are mostly m111, and 2 m7, and b118. Would of liked all on m111.

One m111 will never be grafted. Would like to show habitat folks this can be a good fast basic cheap tree to make habitat quickly with. Basically a northern spy tree.

 

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A Side observation i expect to see is droufht resistance of the well pruned tree to be better. I hsvent decieded how to treat these trees past year 1 of watering. These might not get any irrigation.

 

[TreeDaddy]

I have found pruning trees akin to eating potato chips

........hard to prune just one

see post #2

bill

 

[Teeder]

I think pruning trees is like many other undertakings in that it's difficult to know what to do before you have a goal. It's the goal that dictates the process. I want the lowest limbs relatively high on the tree, and I want strong scaffold branches. That means clipping the lower branches as well as the tips of the higher branches. Never more than 25% of the tree in a year. Prune in winter until the desired size is reached, then prune in summer. Pluck all flowers and fruit the first two years the tree is in the ground. That's generally how I do it. Deer damage generally upend that plan though.

Regarding pruning in the summer, what month are you talking about?

 

[Barndog56]

So when your trees are 20-30 feet tall, do you guys still prune every year? I kinda gave up once they got about 15 feet or so. Which was about year 4.

Once they get that tall they're on their own. If I can't reach it with a pole saw it's left alone.

 

[Telemark]

Regarding pruning in the summer, what month are you talking about?

July and August.

 

[TenPoint]

Trying to explain pruning philosophy.

 

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Thats why i got my project ahead of me.

Kind of more for the forum / learning.

I see some tree pics on here that look a little wild n wooly.

Unfortubately, im like that guy in the pic explaining it.

 

[Peeps]

I prune my trees and then the bears prune my trees. Sometimes they decide I didn’t do enough pruning and break the whole tree off 4 ft above the ground . I leave the broken off trees to continue growing from the shoots that sprout from under the break point.

 

[Tree Spud]

Saw this online, pruning to create fruiting spurs.

 

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You guys want to put marks on this tree with paint?

Its a droptine on antonovka. About textbook for growth. No leader issues or anything odd.



Same tree but pics are 90 deg off or so.

 

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I might use another variety and roostock for the comparison. Anybody suggest a early to bare variety that drops in august or mid september, or drops in late november?

The spot i am looking to put the triplets in will not be a hunting spot.

Thinking the kerr trees didnt have a typical start in life. May effect results.

I have a sundance in M7 coming, maybe get 2 more. Winesap is an option too. Just want to keep early october trees within bow range for one spot at home.