I knew I needed to prune my apples in February but I didn't do it. These are year 2 espalliers and should really, really have been pruned. They are now all full of blossoms and I don't know what to do. Complicating matters, I am leaving June 1 for a year contract overseas. So, either I do something now, or I don't do it at all. Any advice? What would be the impact of me cutting things back now? Finally, part of the reason I didn't do the February pruning was I didn't feel competent to make the right cuts. Advice? A shot of courage? Something? Thanks.
Pruning an apple tree at this time of year is not a problem. I prune my fruit trees at any time of the year that I see something that needs to be corrected or adjusted.
Apple trees are vigorous growers. If you don't prune now, you will have out of control plants. Tony Maniezzo (retired), who used to tend the espalliers here, told me he pruned the trees three times per year. I prune my apple tree in late winter, but find I have to make more cuts and corrections during the summer.
Thanks for the replies. I screwed up my courage and did it. I think it was the right thing, as they were growing wrong and I needed to sort that out. I took a pruning course from Tony Maniezzo years ago, just couldn't remember everything and doubted my ability to do it right.