In article , Kay
writes
In article , Lynda Thornton
writes
In article , Brian
--- writes

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.


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!

This year's growth will be smooth unbranched growth at the ends of the
twigs - two feet or more by the end of the season. Little knobbly
sidegrowths are the fruiting spurs - check some of the places where
apples are already sprouting and you'll see what to look for.

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.

They should last for a long time simply stored in boxes in a cool, not
too dry, place - Bramley's season is from November through to March.
Are you sure it's a Bramley? - there are very many apple varieties.

Hi Kay

Well I think it's a Bramley, it certainly produced some monster sized
cooking apples that tasted like bramleys, but I'm no expert, I just
wouldn't have expected any other kind of cooker I suppose. What other
types might it be out of interest? I thought the tree might be under
stress being so large and not having been pruned for many years, but
still full of apples - can that not reduce the quality of the fruit in
general and make them less likely to last well? Just guessing really!

Thanks
Lynda