Pruning two year old apple trees

[kubes14060]

I have some Liberty and Enterpise apple trees that I planted last spring. I hope to prune them in the next few weeks. Two were planted as whips and 4 were feathered. I have always been afraid to cut anything off of them but I know that's not the correct way to do things. Any suggestions? I'm wondering if the branches will be too low on the ones that already have branches established. They are on B-118 rootstock. I didn't include pics of all of them.

Thanks for any advice!!

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[David M. Taylor]

They look pretty good in my opinion. You might want to keep the lowest branches 3-4 feet off the ground, but if you're at 2.5 feet or so, I don't think it's necessarily wrong either, and limbs can always be removed years down the road if/when no longer needed. Not much pruning or training needed on these.

 

[SmallChunk]

I disagree with above if they are on B118. Lots of that wood should be removed and several of the trees need to have a central leader chosen!

 

[Apple Junkie]

Just my two cents... These are still pretty small trees, so you still have lots of time to fine tune their shapes. All I would do this year is remove the lowest branch. Then as SmallChunk suggests, select the main top leader, and remove the immediate competition. They all look pretty good, so don't try to do too much at one time. Good luck - keep us posted.

 

[buckvelvet]

You are obviously in the snow belt. As @SmallChunk stated I would deff choose a central leader on each and take the rest off. The 1st & 3rd tree I would remove all those lower branches, those are way to long and your going to sustain heavy wild life damage on those in later years. Better to get that energy going up and making that tree go in the air.

The 2nd tree has some promising scaffolds at the right height. If you scored a bud or 2 around that area to add a 4th or 5th branch to that bunch that would be a great 1st set of scaffolds.

 

[Charman03]

I would also cut off the low stuff and try to get a central leader going. You are going to have to get some 10' conduit for stakes and ag lock to get that leader growing straight

 

[H20fwler]

Yep, low stuff and pick a central leader...honestly they don't need much pruning.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I think getting a central leader is priority #1 now. Use a conduit stake if you need to straighten the leader. Year 2 is too early to panic. Maybe take off the lowest limb on each tree. It doesn't hurt to have some leaf surfaces to absorb sun for photosynthesis. The trees need to make energy for upward growth. I'd prune off any close competing limbs high on the leaders. You want the leaders to get the energy.

 

[270 sniper]

I am new to this but looking at those photos would you prune any branch pointed upward to get the tree to grow wider and not taller?

 

[Apple Junkie]

You're on the right track 270... except I think the main objective is to first grow the main stem above the browse line. After that, developing a full crown is desirable as you're suggesting.

 

[Maya]

They just need some training this year. Pic one leader and get all other branches trained to 60 degrees. Roughly like this. This will grow your tree the fastest and get it up out of a trees reach. Later on you can worry about shape.....please, do not do anything but training this year. ( unless there are two competing leaders. In that case cut out the weaker one and leave the stronger one.)

 

[kubes14060]

They just need some training this year. Pic one leader and get all other branches trained to 60 degrees. Roughly like this. This will grow your tree the fastest and get it up out of a trees reach. Later on you can worry about shape.....please, do not do anything but training this year. ( unless there are two competing leaders. In that case cut out the weaker one and leave the stronger one.) View attachment 17732

Thanks for the info!! What about the issue with the lower scaffolds being too low and perhaps will be destroyed by deer in the near future. Should I leave them for now?? These trees are in the woods and are primarily being planted for them.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Those limbs will still be there next year - no need to worry about them now. See Maya above. ^^^^^ Maya has been doing this with MANY trees at his orchard for a while now. I'll go by his advice ( and have for a few years now ! ). He's guided me well, I can tell you.

My advice in post #8 above to cut any competing leaders is based on your first pic in post #1. There are 3 closely spaced shoots at the very top of the tree. The one on the left is the uppermost and that's the one I'd keep for the leader ( it's growing straight up & seems the most vigorous ). Speaking only for myself, I'd cut those other 2 off ( only ) to take away competition to that shoot on the left so it can become the main leader. The lowest limbs would not be a big concern to me right now. They can always be pruned off in a year or 2 as the tree gets bigger.

Maya - Please correct my thinking in that tree's case ( the 1st pic ) if you'd let those other 2 shoots alone. I'm still learning here too !! We all benefit from you experienced guys' advice.

 

[Maya]

Cubes just to give you an idea of what the idea is..... 1st and foremost you want to get them light! 2nd we want to get them up and out of a dears reach asap. To do this you want one central leader and orient branches out to about a 60 degree angle. This will put the auxin (growth hormone)to the tip of the leader, and throughout branches rather than concentrated at the tips.

Take a look at your last pic. There is not really much of a leader. The 2 branches to the right are competing with that leader. You will get very little upward growth that way. Get those branches down and let the leader do its thing! The tree in the second pic has the right idea, just get that down to one leader at the top and bend the others.

Ya that would probably work fine bows, but I'd train those lower limbs down. You are just taking away growth from the leader by leaving them. Look at last years growth on them, almost the same as leader....

Cubes, you want to "weak leader prune" in late May/ early June. Typically there are a few competing branches with the leader, pinch them off and leave a nice strong leader. Then use the clothes pin trick at the top this spring on any remaining shoots you want as branches. Select ones you want and place pin over the top. This gets them started at a good angle.

Sorry guys not much time to post, to dang busy!

 

[Telemark]

How long do you have to tie/weight branches down before they take their new angle?

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Telemark - I use limb spreaders to force branches down to proper angles, but I let them in place for the whole year. That way the branches can get set and "hardened" to a permanent position. Why rush it and mess it up by removing them too early ??

NOTE THE CLOTHES PINS right above the new branches on the tree in post #14.

Thanks Maya, once again for the good info !!

 

[kubes14060]

Thanks for all the information everyone. I’ll keep everyone updated on the progress!