Get on the internet and type in "pruning apple trees". You will get a lot
of responses. I would suggest selecting one that is from an agricultural
college.

I prune mine every year to get rid of the dead wood, water spouts (limbs
that go straight up), limbs that grow toward the center of the tree or
toward another branch, and limbs that grow toward the ground.

First I stand back and look at the tree's shape, and imagine what I want it
to look like in 5 years. They I start taking off unwanted wood. Never
remove more than 1/3 of the tree at one years pruning. Keep in mind that
apples grow on second year wood. If you remove off all the new growth
(which is pretty hard to do), you wont have any apples the following year.
I prune all my trees around February 15, while they are dormant and insects
are not around. Sometimes I have to postpone it a few days if the weather
doesn't cooperate, but I always have it done by the end of Feb.

Good luck. Dwayne




wrote in message
...
I've heard that apple trees need to be pruned annually, and that some
care must be taken in how the job is done. Are there any web-sites
that offer advice on the best way to do this?
Thanks,
Gerry [homepage.eircom.net/~gerfmcc]