Pruning my Anna apple tree
ecky_bay
18 years ago
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18 years agogreenwitch
18 years agoRelated Discussions
Help me prune my apple and peach trees!
Comments (9)Farmer, I'll offer a few general comments with regard to the peach. Most people don't prune their peach trees at all, or wait too long and then want to correct. After this it can be pretty tough sometimes, though not always impossible, to bring it back to the shape or size desired. Perhaps an analogy would be building a house. If the foundation received little attention, it's difficult to rectify a problem, if the rest of the house is already on top. The good news is your tree is still small enough you can train it any way you like. If it were my tree, I'd select three scaffolds, going in different directions and cut everything else off. Ideal scaffolds point more horizontal than vertical, are spaced uniformly around the trunk, and are separated by about 4" vertically on the trunk. This is going to get a bit complicated, but I'll try to give you some specific advice about your peach tree. It's hard to tell from pictures, but on your peach tree it looks like you could select the big scaffold lowest down (pointing towards the right) for your first scaffold. Take a tree saw and cut the scaffold from the underside about 1/2" away from the collar. Cut about 60% through the branch with your tree saw (again from the underside). Move up the branch and inch and repeat (cut 60% through the branch from the underside). Move up the branch another inch and do it again for a third time. Now that branch will easily bend down. Bend it down about 30 degrees from horizontal and tie it there with some string (make sure you tie a large loop, not a tight loop, around the branch so you don't girdle it). Don't pull so hard you break the branch off. Tie the string to something which will hold the branch at that angle. I strong piece of wire pushed in the ground makes a nice anchor, or a large rock, or a jug of water, anything. The branch cuts you made with the tree saw will heal over and the branch will be set more horizontal. Because of the cuts, the branch will grow a little slower, which is a good thing in this case because it's currently too dominant. Next there is a thin low branch pointing toward the left. Leave it. It should make a nice scaffold the way it's going. It is a bit too close to your first scaffold on the trunk, but these things happen. Lastly, go up the tree a little more and pick a scaffold pointing away from the camera. I can't tell where on the trunk that occurs, but I do see some shoots pointing that way. You'll need to tie one of those shoots down. They look small enough you won't have to use the tree saw. Again tie it down about 30 degrees from horizontal. Cut everything else off. As your peach tree grows, keep pruning the strong vigorous vertical (upright) growth and leave the more horizontal growth. As you get more growth on the three scaffolds you selected, don't be afraid to keep tying things down if you want. You can always prune upright growth off, but you can tie it down too, if you are short of more horizontal growth. Either way, just don't allow that strong vigorous upward growth. It isn't the most fruitful wood, and it gets your tree too tall. Lastly, it would be a good idea to put about a 4' ring of mulch around that tree. Young peach trees don't compete well with grass....See MoreCan I prune my apple tree now?
Comments (4)Leave the buds alone and let the fruit set. When the apples get nickle to quarter size thin them out. Start with the smaller ones and bug infested ones. Then move onto whatever else you need to till you have thinned them out by 50-60%. Some apples for whatever reason will grow faster and larger than others which is one reason you want to wait. Another is that the bugs are going to get theirs and its better that they do before you thin them out rather than after....See MoreWhy should I prune my new apple tree?
Comments (10)What you have is a whip - a very young tree with not yet any lateral branches developed. The suggestion you received is pretty standard for newly planted whips and is worth following as it encourages the development of a strong branch system. And that's were the fruit will grow. What you want to do is make a heading cut where you want the branching to begin and just above one of the buds. You do not need to take it down as far as they said - that is normally the practice for semi-dwarf or larger growing trees. And you don't want this tree to start to set any fruit until it develops a proper habit with some branches and a basic structure. So remove any flowers for at the least the first few years. And you should continue pruning in subsequent years but not in this same manner. This is pretty much a one time shot. You might want to research apple pruning or maybe a local nursery or your extension service has classes you can attend. Apples need routine, preferably annual, pruning to stimulate and encourage the development of fruiting spurs or those little nubby protuberances that the fruit grows on. 6-8' is really short for a dwarf apple. I'm thinking this is a mini dwarf, which only get around 6' tall - dwarfs typically get about 8-10'. Do you have another apple for cross pollination?...See MoreLeaves browning on Anna Apple tree
Comments (36)When we bought this house there was an existing apple. One of those with several varieties grafted onto it. Definitely had fire blight. We tore it out and burned it. Happily it wasn't near the big old Anna. No blight there. I'm glad you found out what the problem was and can start fresh. Good luck with your new trees. I hope your wife is good with apples because you are going to have them coming out your ears! She will need an apple corer, peeler and slicer all in one. I got mine on Amazon and it has a suction thing so it sticks to the counter while it's being turned....See Morekuffelcreek
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