If you are keen to enjoy an abundant harvest of crisp, delicious apples this year and beyond, one of the most important first tasks to learn is how to prune an apple tree and when to do it for the best results.
Pruning your apple tree is crucial to ensure a healthy tree and to yield an abundance of high-quality fruit, so it must be done correctly.
Whilst tree pruning might seem like a daunting task at first, there are a few simple tips that can make the process easier. With our handy guide and some expert advice, you'll be pruning apple trees like a pro in no time and reaping the rewards come autumn.
What is the best way to prune an apple tree?
Ali Lijee, Gardener & Founder of TreeMend, tells Country Living: "Pruning is not solely about appearance; there are also health benefits to pruning. By removing dead, damaged, or diseased stems, you will reduce opportunities for other plants to get infected, also allowing for good air circulation and healthy growth to follow as the plant becomes clean."
Good apple tree pruning technique is more about improving your tree's structure, a vital way to encourage a good crop.
Ali explains: "Essentially, you want to open up the structure of the tree. A good exercise is to visualise a 'wine goblet' shape. This will let more sunlight into the canopy and make it easier to pick some good fruit afterwards."
Some important steps to bear in mind when pruning apple trees are:
- Aim to retain the trees' outward-facing shoots (unless badly damaged) and remove any crossing shoots that are rubbing together.
- Remove low, downward-growing branches that may block light and cause obstructions.
- Young side shoots known as laterals should be left unpruned to allow them to develop fruit buds in the tree's second year of growth.
- Remove excess height on larger, more mature apple trees by up to a third.
3 pruning cuts to use
Smallholder and Country Living contributor Sally Coulthard – who has an orchard on her Yorkshire plot – recommends three pruning techniques to get your apple in ship shape for the season:
The snip
Make a healthy, clean pruning cut with secateurs about 0.5cm above a bud. The cut should be on a steep slant, leaning away from the bud, to stop water collecting and causing rot.
The lop
For branches larger than 2cm, use loppers. Open the loppers wide to allow the branch to get deep between the cutting blades. Chop in one firm motion and don’t let the blades twist.
The saw
For limbs and branches too big to be lopped, use a pruning saw. Make a small, initial cut on the underside of a branch about 5-10cm away from the trunk. Move to the upper side of the branch and saw downwards to remove it. Make a clean finish by sawing off the remaining stub flush with the trunk.
What's the best month to prune apple trees
According to the RHS, pruning an apple tree should be done while the tree is dormant, after leaf fall and before it starts growing again (bud burst), which is usually between November and early March.
Ali has plenty of hands-on experience in tree surgery and garden care, and also agrees. He explains: "Although apple trees can be pruned throughout the year, winter to early spring (while the tree is still dormant) is when trees can benefit the most. Pruning during this timeframe has two main benefits: it reduces the risk of disease, and it gives the tree a fresh start for strong and healthy growth in the upcoming growing season."
That's not to say that there's not a little bit of wiggle room with pruning dates, however, as Ben Branson – expert tree coppicer and founder of Sylva – has been trying out a late summer apple tree prune, with excellent results.
Ben explains: "I swear by a late summer apple tree prune. We did it last year with a small cutting of Isaac Newton’s famous tree, “Flower of Kent”, and this year we have a bumper crop."
"Even if you just prune the laterals, which are the long shoots–it will let light and air into this year’s fruit, and this will encourage more fruit buds for next year."
So, there you have it. Now the only thing left to do is to prune an apple tree for yourself, and put all of these helpful tips into practice.
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Becky is a freelance journalist based in Somerset, UK, specialising in all things home, gardens, lifestyle, and entertainment. With a love of classic rom-coms and a penchant for romanticising her own everyday life, she enjoys embracing cosy, slow living with her family and their crazy Welsh collie, Cookie. Becky has been published in publications such as Cosmopolitan, The Independent, The Evening Standard, The Telegraph, Collider, Happiful Magazine, OK! And many more.
