Hello,
We have 11 dwarf apple trees that are about 3.5 years old. They produced their first good crop of apples this year. In that excitement I forgot to do a summer pruning of the shoots to encourage and develop fruit buds. So now I have quite a bit of growth off of the lateral branches.
Should I prune this late or just wait until the tree goes dormant? Any recommendations are appreciated as I am still learning how to prune these espaliered trees.
Thanks,
Bruce
Bruce,
Are these espaliered trees, and how many varieties do you have?
If they’re on wires and need to fill some space between each other, you can tie over the longer end-shoots to extend their reach. They’ll also better handle a snow or ice load if attached to wires.
Fruit spurs will also develop after winter pruning, just take the shoots back to two or three buds; the end bud will give the vegetative growth as the closer in buds will likely develop into fruit spurs.
On young trees, I’d wait to prune in early spring, before the sap begins to flow. Established apple trees (in my neck of the woods) may pruned anytime from now till spring --they’ve a good supply of stored nutrients that will easily balance out. Young trees, like yours, are still building their reserve - and if they fruited heavy this year, I’d let them rest through the winter.