Pruning apple trees

Pruning trees and shrubs is one of the few reasons we northern gardeners have for venturing into the garden in the winter. And even at that, pruning at our house is generally limited to our two full-size apple trees. These 50-year-old trees sucker and send up waves of water sprouts that demand an annual haircut.

When we first moved in, we realized they hadn't been properly pruned in 13 years. That's the number of growth rings that were visible on the water sprouts (some more than two inches in diameter and sticking straight up) that Mark cut out. Getting the trees in shape was a laborious process of taking out a third of the overgrown wood each year for three years. Now it's more a case of annual maintenance.

It's an easier job in the winter when you can see the structure of the tree and get at the limbs. We have a beautiful moss garden under these trees and protecting it from the ladders and falling branches is one of our main goals with winter pruning. The ideal day is sunny, no wind and temps in the 30s. Just enough snow to form a good solid crust, but not so deep it will be a problem moving the ladder or keeping it steady.

Finding that perfect day was a problem last winter and this year as well; too much snow and too many days with below normal temps. Last year's garden journal notes that Mark did the pruning March 14-15 which is quite late in the season. Most years it's a January job. 

This year he did it over a number of days: February 28 and March 1, with temps around 10 degrees. A significant amount of work on March 4 when it hit 40 degrees and finishing up on the 5th and 6th when temps shot up into the 50s!

If you're looking for specifics on how to tackle pruning an overgrown apple tree, Margaret Roach of A Way to Garden is the person to turn to. She recently did a great post with step-by-step directions and photos. 

For Dane County residents, Olbrich Botanical Gardens is offering a workshop — "Pruning Pointers" — in April. We both took this workshop when we began our garden and it was a great introduction to pruniung techniques as well as tools. What's really great about the class, is that the hort staff take you outdoors where they demonstrate on Olbrich's trees and shrubs so you can really see what they're talking about!

We do have one recommendation for a tool that has made pruning trees and shrubs so much easier and safer: an orchard ladder; specifically a Tallman tripod ladder. We ordered ours directly from the Tallman company because we couldn't find one locally. Though I doubt we'd have that problem today with the local explosion in gardening. 

The advantages of this ladder are obvious in the picture above. It has a wide stable base that narrows toward the top and the tripod design lets you open or close the ladder to the degree that a given project requires. It's especially useful for squeezing into skinny spaces between the branches you want to prune. Or to prune a shrub where there is nothing to lean a traditional ladder against. One of our best garden purchases ever! 

Comments

[Karen]

Great caretakers of those venerable trees you are, out there in 10 degree weather! How do you feel your fingers to handle the tools safely at that temperature? Wow, I'm in awe. Fruit trees scare me, the pruning requirements seem so difficult to learn. My mom is a whiz, I think she has one of those ladders. Thanks for the links, I'm forwarding this post to a friend with an overgrown apple she wants to rehab.

[LINDA from EACH LITTLE WORLD]

Hi Karen! It really helps to take a class and see someone else do it. I think we spend such a number of days pruning because you can only be out for an hour or so on those really cold ones. I would never manage it, but my husband is more cold tolerant! Sounds like we had rather similar weather yesterday: rain that started to freeze and then turned to snow. Luckily I won't be buying plants til the end of April so I don't have to worry about them freezing!

[Mr. McGregor's Daughter]

Those tripod ladders are a stroke of genius. Why didn't I come up with this? :^D Don't you hate trying to get rid of suckers from Apple & Crabapple trees? That's about the only thing I don't like about them.

[LINDA from EACH LITTLE WORLD]

Those trees never stop suckering. Of course, the pruning pushes some of that other growth but it sure is a never-ending process. The ladder was a lucky catalog find and has proven very useful. You see old apple ladders that narrow toward the top, but usually they have to be leaned against the tree. It's the tripod that makes it so useful — and the fact that it's well made.

[çağlar keskin]

Pruning is useful and needed for trees but it is also not easy to do that. Thanks to all who informs people about it, i also found a helpful guide about pruning :

http://agricultureguide.org/

[work platform ladders]

I must admit, I haven't even seen a tripod ladder before. Still, whoever first came up with the idea deserves a lot of praise. I can see that the design can easily allow you to get into those nooks and crannies you can't using a regular ladder.