water shoots on apple trees
 

Hi,

some over-enthusiastic pruning --particularly of a Bramleys-- has
produced 3 to 4 of these by each cut. When is the best time to thin them
out, and to how many? Just leave one, or allow branching. I cut back so
much because the branches had grown long and thin and couldn't support
the load of apples they had last year.

Thanks,

Brian Mitchell

Hello Brian,
The general guide is Winter pruning encourages growth whereas summer
pruning is for fruit.
What I would do is to decide which are going to be the best shoots and
provide you with a good branch structure. Come late July/early August
reduce the sappy growth by 1/3rd. I would do this as it will stop
further growth and allow some of the plants energy to go the the
remaining shoots. Come winter prune out the unwanted shoots. If there
are shoots down the branch, rather than remove them all, you could
select and develope these as fruiting spurs.

Next year new growth will occur at the cut, just wipe the out with your
thumb.
Why has this sappy growth occured? - Pruning hard
It will recover, just a question of selecting the right branches and
restoring its shape.
Good luck
Cliff