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4/5/2011 Loyd Collett, Easter Valley Ranch 1

Pruning and Caring for Apple Trees

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Pruning Objectives

To train a plant

To maintain plant health

To improve quality of flowers,

fruit, foliage and stems

To control growth

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Two Interrelated Processes

1. Sunlight and carbohydrate

physiology

2. Plant hormone physiology

(plant growth regulators)

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1. Fruit Trees Require Sunlight !!!

Leaves require 30-50%

Fruit need >70%

Fiesta Apple

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Prevent Heavy Shading

Site selection

Tree spacing

Proper limb positioning

Pruning (dormant & Summer)

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Trees Love Sunshine

Eatable landscape

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Apple Blossom State Flower: Arkansas & Michigan

Sekai-Ichi

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Bees Love Sunshine

Mason Bee on plum

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Everybody Loves The Sun

Summer Bellflower

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Prune For Fruit Quality

Increase Light

Better Pollination

Reduce over

cropping

Disease & pest

Control

Frost peach

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“What Makes An Apple Taste Good” (Soluble Solids – Sugars)

Lower in fruit from over-cropped trees.

Higher in well thinned crops.

Higher in fruit taken from sunny parts of tree.

Higher from trees with healthy foliage.

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Apple Scab

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Anthracnose

Canker

[A fungus]

“bull’s-eye-rot” (when on fruit)

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Anthracnose Limb Canker

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2. Plant Growth Regulators (Hormones)

Auxins

Cytokinins

Gibberellins

Ethylene

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Auxins (Produced in vertical

growing tips)

Strong apical dominance

Moves under gravity to roots

Stimulates vertical growth

Restricts lateral shoots

Controlled by pruning and limb bending

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Cytokinins

Produced in roots

Important in cell division and growth

Stimulates growth of laterals after

Auxins have been reduced

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Gibberellins

Produced in seeds and

expanding leaves

Functional in fruit cell

expansion & rate of growth

Can inhibit flower buds and

cause bi-annual fruiting

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Ethylene

Gaseous hormone

Released after injury

Accelerates healing (timing of heavy pruning)

Used to ripen fruit

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Five Elements of Early Training & Care

1. Select rootstock

2. Variety selection

3. Proper planting

4. Early pruning

5. Limb bending [training]

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1. Rootstock (critical)

Adaptability to soils

Early fruiting

Help control tree size

Standard trees are most hardy and vigorous

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2. Variety Selection

Individual growth habit

Differing fruit bearing

pattern

Ultimate tree size

Chill Hours Required

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How Big Will My Tree Grow ?

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Chill Requirement # of hrs. between 32 - 45 degrees F

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Chill Hours temps. < 45 degrees

Apple 700-1800

Apricot 500-600

Cherry 700-800

E. Pear 600-800

A. Pear 400-500

Fig 100-200

E. Plum 800-900

J. Plum 300-500

Peach 600-800

Persimmon 200-400

Kiwi 600-800

Citrus 0

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3. Planting

Warm sunny site

Adequate hole

Tree position in hole

Watering-in

Support

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Support Young Tree

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Serpent Tree

(Apple trees go walking)

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Eye of the Dragon

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Permanent Support

Permanent Support

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4. Early Pruning

Light Pruning

Remove damaged wood

Remove undesirable wood

Select strong scaffold limbs

Good angles and spacing

Head at 3-4 ft. to stimulate

branching as needed

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Notching:

Remove a piece of bark to

produce a limb where needed.

Notching above a lateral bud

in early spring prevents auxin

from reaching the lateral bud,

resulting in a limb.

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Vase-like Form

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Pyramid Form

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Vase-like Form

Spartan apple

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Limb Pattern

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Four Main Limbs

With vertical

separation

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Tight Limb Cluster

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Five Can Get Crowded

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Three are Okay

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Limb Angle

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5. Limb Bending and

Positioning

45-60 degree limb angles (3-5 well spaced)

Apical dominance is reduced

Limb elongation is reduced

Lateral branching is increased

Branches are stiffened

Flower density is increased

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Limb Bending

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Tie-Down

Bowline Knot

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Limb Spreading

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Branch Replacement

2-year old upright

shoot tied down

to 60 degrees for

replacement

branch

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Limb Bending

Sometimes a

heavy fruit

load can be

used to lower

growing tips

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Good Angles & Spacing

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Narrow Weak Angle

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Advanced Decay

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Weepy Branch

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Types of Pruning Cuts

Heading

Thinning

Not safe for pruning

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Definition: Limb v. Branch

Limb – entire appendage all the way

back to the main trunk

Branch – Intermediate appendages

attached to a limb or to other

branches.

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1. Heading Cuts

Control height or Size

Most invigorating type of cut

Reduce apical dominance

Stimulates new shoots

Stiffens the branches

Useful to induce branching at specific

points (especially in young trees)

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Heading of Young Tree

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Heading Older Tree

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Tree Too Tall?

PNW 400

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2. Thinning Cuts

Thin for light penetration, fruit quality

and keep bearing wood young.

A tree maintenance function Removes undesired wood

Shorten limbs

Control amount of growth

Directs growth

Reduce total amount of fruiting wood

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Types of Thinning Cuts

Removal of entire limb to main

trunk

Shorten limb or branch back to a

lateral branch or vigorous bud

Remove strong upright water

sprouts or shoots

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PNW

400

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Pollination

Apples are:

Genetically diverse

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Parts of a Flower

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Apple Pollination Chart

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Apple Truisms Fertilization is necessary to produce seeds. (individually)

Fruit rarely develop without seeds.

Most apples have 5-10 seeds.

With < 3 seeds, an apple will usually drop.

Misshapen or lopsided fruit indicate inadequate pollination.

More seeds = larger the fruit.

Rain, wind, cool weather can inhibit pollination.

>55 degree weather okay -- with enough bees.

Mason Bees will be active sooner than Honey Bees.

Only 2-8 % of apple blossoms need pollination to set full

load of fruit.

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Apple Blossom

King blossom

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Pear Blossoms

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Plum Flowers

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Thinning Fruit

Improve size and quality

Early is better than later Ultimate fruit size is greater

Promotes fruit bud development

for next year

Helps prevent bi-annual fruiting

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Nutrient Sink Interactions

Vegetative sinks Roots, steams, leaves

Fruit are major sinks

Balance vegetative growth and

fruit load (pruning & thinning)

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Fruit are Nutrient Sinks

Liberty apple

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When Should I Prune ?

A

L

W

A

Y

S

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When Should I prune ?

ANYTIME PRUNING

Remove dead, damaged,

diseased

Crowded, weak, low vigor

Interfering, wrong way, and

bottom branches.

Unwanted suckers.

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When Should I Prune

DORMANT PRUNING Best time for heavy pruning

Clear view without leaves

Just Before bud swell is best

Quicker start for healing

Less overall stress

Greatest growth response

Best for restoration of old trees

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Old Tree Restored

Yellow Transparent

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Happy is He

Homestead apple

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Strong Branches

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Same Apple Tree

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Restored by Heading & Grafting

Top-Worked to Liberty

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Bark Grafts on Large Branch Stubs

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Two Restored Apple Trees with

Electric Elk Fence Protection

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Restored Gravenstein

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Aggressive Action Required

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Restored King Apple

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Restored Yellow Transparent

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100 Year Old

Homestead

Apple Tree

(Too fragile to restore)

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Death

Defying

Granddad’s old apple

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Restorable

? ? ? ? ? ?

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What Say You

? ? ?

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The

Planter

(Elderberry)

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Bad News

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What Now ????

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Stimulated Growth

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Before and After

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EC 1005

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Before and After

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Before Pruning

King apple

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After Pruning

Thinning cuts

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When Should I Prune ?

SUMMER PRUNING

For reduced growth response

Top removal in small trees

Remove small unwanted

shoots

Remove water sprouts when

six inches and longer

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When Not Removed

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Getting Started

You know what you want

But how to get there???

A. Start with the obvious

B. Decide how high

C. Remove big wood early

D. Wander and ponder

E. When is enough???

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Pruning Technique

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Healing Process

Callus

growth

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Large Wound

Grafted stump

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Delayed Healing

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Water Hole

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Dental Work

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Large Wounds

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Limb Fractures

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Limb Fracture

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Fracture Repair

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Fracture Repair

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Healing Over

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Complete Blowout

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Preventing Fractures

Prune

Thin

Prop

Prop as a last resort, and only

after the first two fail.

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To Remove Large Limb

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Rip-Tear

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Preserve Limb Collar

Collar

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Zero Ground Clearance

Freedom apple

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Ground Clearance

Lawn mower high

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Orchard Mason Bees

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Honey Bee

will sneak up and over the edge to collect nectar

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Active Bee Block

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Rewards Day Liz Olsen Photo

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Art by

Carol DeMuth

Toledo, OR