Where to Prune Apple Tree

SwampCat

5 year old buck +
13C62E96-216C-4F7D-A218-059C4AF01B4A.jpegWhere would you prune to make one central leader?
 
I'd probably keep the orange 1st followed by the yellow.
leader.jpg
 
I'd whack that yellow one mentioned above and then cut off the lowest one on the right. If I'd keep that tall one on the left, trim that down a bit.
 
It would look like a stick when I was finished pruning it. I’m done with low lateral branches PITA to mow around.
 
I agree with b116757. Assuming deer are a problem here, the first lateral branch should be about 4' to 5' up. I'd remove everything but the tallest leader. Head the top leader off to encourage new laterals. Next year pick a whorl (4) of laterals about 4-5' high and remove all others. Early training will save you a lot of work later. As soon as that fence comes off, the bottom branches are deer food.
 
Yeah, that definitely needs some tough love. The branches with good angles are darn low, and the ones higher up are guaranteed to split off if left on. As a big fan of glyphosate and scorched earth, I might be tempted to leave the lower ones. Won't be long until the tips of those are up out of deer reach, especially if you cut the ones above back to a single leader.

Keeping the area underneath the trees sprayed not only eliminates the need for mowing, but helps keep rodents at bay and greatly improves growth.
 
As the Professor says, I'd cut everything except the tallest leader. But rather than heading it back to encourage laterals, I would score the trunk above the buds where I want laterals to grow.

I know heading central leaders is a common practice, but it's something I never do. I want that leader getting as tall as it can, as soon as it can.
 
Yeah, that definitely needs some tough love. The branches with good angles are darn low, and the ones higher up are guaranteed to split off if left on. As a big fan of glyphosate and scorched earth, I might be tempted to leave the lower ones. Won't be long until the tips of those are up out of deer reach, especially if you cut the ones above back to a single leader.

Keeping the area underneath the trees sprayed not only eliminates the need for mowing, but helps keep rodents at bay and greatly improves growth.
Dont have to worry about rodents - none here but a few tree squirrels.

Speaking of gly - do you protect the trunk on these young trees when sprayng?
 
Dont have to worry about rodents - none here but a few tree squirrels.

Speaking of gly - do you protect the trunk on these young trees when sprayng?
I would be very careful not to get the herbicide on the trunk.
 
IMG_20220413_064526.jpg

I would cut the left forked leader off at the yellow line. Carefully. And I wouldn't cut anymore this year. In the future I would either cut those lateral branches off, or cut them back by about half.
 
I agree with not cutting it all this year or even next year. I'd probably take 2 years to have everything in that pic except the chosen leader gone. Leaving a few limbs helps with strength for a young tree. You can trim some of the length off the temporary limbs so it's not so much like a bed sheet on the clothesline in a big wind. I think if you removed everything there except a leader in 1 year, you'd be taking off more than 75% of the tree.

All of my trees have been or are in the stages of being trimmed to 5' before the first limbs. A couple I didn't quite make it on. Those were really fast growers from Northern Whitetail crabs, and their growth habits and limb structure are pretty crazy, like a pear tree. I decided to live with a couple nice limbs lower of the tree, but I know I'll be mad about it in the future.
 
I am afraid with the slow growth, lack of growth, on trees on my ground - if I end up pruning to five feet, I am afraid their wont be any limbs left.

Will a properly pruned apple tree with a good central leader, grow taller?
 
This might sound rough but, Their all on burrowed time if you dont get window screen around the bases, you could paint the south sides of the trunks white and get a taller wider fence and kill the grass out 3 feet in a circle around the tree - then I would worry about pruning. Its not a matter of "if" but when the mice get to those trees, then the deer. You have done a ton of work and have great trees and the frustration your going to feel - because ive been there will kill you.

The best thing you could do to that tree is get tough with it, its a painful lesson but the tree will benefit, I always hate to tell people what to do with their trees because i simply dont always have the time to do it to the numbers of trees I have, but the trees that have done the best are ones I was aggressive with cutting back and pruning at an early age, you can see the lower lateral branches that developed from the nursery, you have not cut the tree back /topped since you planted it and you have all that upward growth with no lateral branches, the trunks are spindly and supporting all that growth with no laterals developing.

Topping will stimulate lateral growth, and strengthen the core trunk for the future.

You can see that once you remove those lower branches and are left with a central leader... (the tree is still young and needs to be trained ... all those branches look great but dont work into the future of that tree - its a feel good thing for you but not so much for the tree. Apple trees take some time - producing apples in 3-5 years as a goal is not good for the tree.) I would cut back to the lower mark, but that is to IMO correct what should have done last year.... I cut back a foot or so of the new growth each year now for the first 3 or so years ... that gradually adds those lower scaffold branches where I want them and gives me a stronger trunk.

Just another handful of suggestions/thoughts for you to kick around.
 

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It will look like your starting over, but really your just working a young tree - once you cut away what you dont need now on that tree its pretty obvious you have a bare central leader. But that is a tree that is then shaped to take off for you. There are some good sources of info here and better more knowledgeable people here too and I may have left you with an image of a tree that was pretty aggressively pruned but I think with its established root system you would be better off cutting it back to the image I posted and let the tree run with a strong central leader and plan to start working it for good laterals .

I have a slight concern with the percentage of the cut but its a very young tree and I believe it will take it, you have to remember orchards will take a tree down to a branch or two and stumps to change up varieties.
 
This is just a question because I don't know anyone's take on it, but if you remove every limb on the tree at once, won't it most likely just sucker like crazy? So you'll still have all those new limbs to remove next year anyway. I guess maybe look at it like you're not starting over, but just a year behind. Cavey has way more experience at this. All I know is when I overprune, I've seen 3 giant suckers emerge where 1 big limb was taken. Perhaps that's still the best route.
 
This is just a question because I don't know anyone's take on it, but if you remove every limb on the tree at once, won't it most likely just sucker like crazy? So you'll still have all those new limbs to remove next year anyway. I guess maybe look at it like you're not starting over, but just a year behind. Cavey has way more experience at this. All I know is when I overprune, I've seen 3 giant suckers emerge where 1 big limb was taken. Perhaps that's still the best route.
It could happen that’s the roll of the dice we take any time we prune. Not as likely with apple trees pear trees yes very much more so. I’m sure cultivar, age of tree and time of year that pruning happens all have an effect on sucking also.
 
This might sound rough but, Their all on burrowed time if you dont get window screen around the bases, you could paint the south sides of the trunks white and get a taller wider fence and kill the grass out 3 feet in a circle around the tree - then I would worry about pruning. Its not a matter of "if" but when the mice get to those trees, then the deer. You have done a ton of work and have great trees and the frustration your going to feel - because ive been there will kill you.

The best thing you could do to that tree is get tough with it, its a painful lesson but the tree will benefit, I always hate to tell people what to do with their trees because i simply dont always have the time to do it to the numbers of trees I have, but the trees that have done the best are ones I was aggressive with cutting back and pruning at an early age, you can see the lower lateral branches that developed from the nursery, you have not cut the tree back /topped since you planted it and you have all that upward growth with no lateral branches, the trunks are spindly and supporting all that growth with no laterals developing.

Topping will stimulate lateral growth, and strengthen the core trunk for the future.

You can see that once you remove those lower branches and are left with a central leader... (the tree is still young and needs to be trained ... all those branches look great but dont work into the future of that tree - its a feel good thing for you but not so much for the tree. Apple trees take some time - producing apples in 3-5 years as a goal is not good for the tree.) I would cut back to the lower mark, but that is to IMO correct what should have done last year.... I cut back a foot or so of the new growth each year now for the first 3 or so years ... that gradually adds those lower scaffold branches where I want them and gives me a stronger trunk.

Just another handful of suggestions/thoughts for you to kick around.
Literally, we dont have mice, cotton rats, voles, or rabbits. We do have fireants. Anything up around a tree trunk is an invite for an ant nest. This tree is starting its third year in the ground at my place. I really appreciate the information
 
Literally, we dont have mice, cotton rats, voles, or rabbits. We do have fireants. Anything up around a tree trunk is an invite for an ant nest. This tree is starting its third year in the ground at my place. I really appreciate the information
Where is this fruit tree paradise you speak of?
 
Where is this fruit tree paradise you speak of?
SW Arkansas. Cedar trees by the millions. High pH. Thin topsoil layer. Hot as hades. So far, other than peach trees and pear, has not proven to be fruit tree paradise.
 
Never been down that far south in Arkansas but NW Arkansas is a beautiful area of the country.
 
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