In article , Brian
--- writes

"Lynda Thornton" wrote in message
...
Hi

I have read conflicting advice about pruning apple trees, it's a bit of
a minefield! Some say to prune in the winter/dormant months, other
advice is to prune midsummer - which is preferable? I have several
eating apple trees which have been kept small over the years before we
moved here. Last year the trees put on quite a bit of growth and I want
to cut them back to keep them manageable and not to end up with any more
tonnes of wasted apples as we can't possibly eat them all! There are
tiny apples forming now as the blossom has finished - will it harm the
trees to be cut back now and what is the best way of doing it?



Thanks!
Lynda
__________________________-
Don't prune now~~wait another month and then only prune this seasons
growths, back to two or three buds. These will form new fruiting spurs.
Winter pruning causes strong growth and is used for this purpose and
for shaping.
Winter prune for growth~~ Summer pruning for fruiting.
Bramley can be treated as all apples though it ignores any attempt to
keep within bounds. Totally ignores the rootstock and takes more space than
it deserves!!. A real thug.
Best Wishes Brian.



Hi Brian

The trees actually have small apples forming on them right now - if I
wait another month will it be a problem to cut back the branches, and
how do I identify this year's growth and buds? I am a novice with apple
trees as you will no doubt have guessed!

When we moved here, the Bramley tree which is obviously quite old and
pretty big, was full of apples but I think too full, they weren't
staying green for long and were rapidly turning yellowish, we had a
frantic time trying to cook them and preserve them. We had a few large
branches lopped off in the winter as it was overgrown looking and not a
good shape and I will thin out the fruit a bit to try and get fewer and
better apples, I hope that works. I will thin out the fruit on the
other trees too.

Thanks for the advice!

Lynda
--
Lynda Thornton