I recently moved into my new home and have this 15-20 ft. apple tree on my lot. It's taller than my house. I don't think it has ever been pruned. Hubby and I would like to prune it this weekend but we don't know where to cut the branches. As you can see by the photos it has very long suckers sticking straight up. It has two trunks. My neighbor said I should remove one of the trunks and leave the main one. Is he right? I really don't know the first thing about pruning an apple tree so any help would be appreciated. Also, notice all the moss that has grown on the trunk and branches. Will this hurt the tree? Should I do anything about that? Thanks again for all your help. ~ Lily ~
The moss shouldn't be a concern, and may lessen once pruning allows more light and airflow. I would probably remove the second trunk, though you must be careful not to damage the main one. I don't know whether it'd be better to cut flush with the ground, or to dig around a little and cut below ground level. The most vertical and vigorous growth should be pruned out; this is not fruiting wood. After a hard pruning, there will be vigorous growth the following year, so be sure to leave a fair amount of branches that will (hopefully) bear fruit, since the de-vigorating nature of fruiting will help counteract the pruning. References will advise you to not do too much all at once, so know that in the next few years you can make additional cuts to achieve the best shape. Also note that homeowmers rarely overprune, so don't be afraid as your pile of prunings grows. Here is an excellent reference: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1150.html
Hi Biggam, Thanks very much for taking the time to help me with this. I found the link you sent to me very helpful. I will need to study a little more before I start cutting I think. I really don't want to do it wrong. How short should I make the tree? Hope that doesn't sound like a dumb question. About the moss, your answer makes sense. With many of those branches gone the light will be able to get through. If you don't mind me asking, both you and my neighbor suggested cutting out that other trunk? Why? Just so I know why I am removing it. Thanks again for all your help.
The bigger of the two tops may actually belong to a rootstock. Assuming it is, in fact a grafted tree as would normally be the case with one purchased from a garden center the main thing is to figure out which top originated as a sprout from the rootstock and cut that one down. This will probably have to be based on appearance of flowers and leaves, if no fruits are being produced. Possibly if the rootstock is also one that will produce large fruits - and it is not known what the apples produced by the scion were supposed to be like (red, yellow, green, sweet, sour...) - it would be nearly impossible to tell even if fruits were being produced. Then, I guess, it would be a matter of choosing which was producing fruit that you liked more and cutting out the other. Or, you could keep both, pruning back the more vigorous one a bit to keep it from further overwhelming the other, less vigorous top - same as would be done with a purchased multi-graft ("fruit cocktail") tree with scions of varying vigor grafted together on the same central stem. If you do choose one top and take the other out it is not so important to start pruning heavily on the top kept, especially if you are not already familiar with successful pruning of apple trees you don't want to whack on it too much and foul things up. Destructive mal-pruning of apple and other fruit trees is common and should not be taken as an example of what works well.
Do you know if the second trunk produces the same type of apples or not? It's possible that one of these trunks is actually a shoot off of the rootstock, which may or may not provide useful apples. If you don't know, there's no harm in just pruning the second trunk lightly and seeing what kinds of apples you have before taking out one of the trunks. That said, another reason why you should remove a second trunk is because water, dirt and debris will get trapped in the "V" where the two trunks meet and could likely become a home for insects and rot organisms. You don't want to compromise the entire tree by allowing this to happen at the base of the trunk. In addition, the two trunks are competing for light and cause excessive amounts of shade which is probably a factor as to why you have so much moss.
Many times each year, I come to properties where one species or variety has out-grown another that was grafted on it. Based on what I've experienced, if I had to take a guess and make a cut, I'd remove the bigger one. If that was done - bigger removed - I'm not sure I'd recommend pruning anything off the small part this year, if you get some summer days over 90 to 95 degrees F. Or several weeks of 85 degrees F. weather. Let the small part acclimate to the sunshine for a year, then prune it next winter. The length of the limbs on the bigger section, gives the impression that it's a fairly speedy grower. You also have the option to start all over again too. One other reason I suspect the small tree to be the intended variety, is due to it having the lower scaffold limbs, and the big section not having low scaffold limbs. That's one of the most pronounced clues.
Having had a bit of experience with suckering apple trees, MD's observations strike me as having merit.
Its' awesome to see what I can learn here. Okay so leave the little tree trunk and remove the bigger one. I think most of the branches are on the smaller one. The larger trunk has branches mostly near the top and if I were to prune the top of that and cut out the smaller trunk there wouldn't be any branches left on the tree. I hope I'm making some sort of sense. So, if I am left with the smaller tree, do you mean I should leave the suckers there for a year?
How about this: Prune the larger one's branches that shade the little one. Prune the little one as if it was all alone (cut vigorous shoots, crowded limbs, poor crotch angles, etc.). Then this fall you can see what fruit is produced on each and be sure you are removing the right trunk, which you can do next winter or spring.
biggam ~This idea sounds good to me simply because I don't want to make the mistake of cutting down the wrong tree trunk. Okay, I have another question? When I make the cut with my loppers to prune off the top of the tree trunk(s) (which is pretty much all suckers) should I cut the trunk on an angle?
http://www.na.fs.fed.us/Spfo/pubs/howtos/ht_prune/cuts.htm There's a page that may help. As it shows, if you decide to prune off the top, cut it back to a branch that is 1/3 to 1/2 the size of what you're cutting, and cut at an angle -- the purpose of this is so rain drains off and does not build up in the crotch of that branch. Or, if you head back the leader to a bud, cut at a slight angle away from the bud for the same reason; this cut would force branching from buds (say, the top 8 inches,) just under the cut. The top, remaining bud becomes the new leader (trunk).
Thanks very much for all your help. The link you gave me is extremely helpful. I'm printing and taking it with me straight to the tree. Okay, I will do this. Tomorrow is the big day for pruning my tree. Oh yes, what does 'headback the leader' mean? Oh my, I have so, so much to learn. <smiles> Lily
Heading-back and Thinning are the main types of pruning cuts. Thinning would be like removing an entire branch. Heading-back is cutting back to a bud or branch. So, I was still referring to your plan to prune off the top of the tree. You're welcome. Hope you have good fruit.
Biggam ~ Thank you very much for your helpful reply. I'm beginning to understand a little more now. I love this forum sooooo much. I haven't pruned the tree yet because of all the snow we've been having. I am going to wait a bit. I dropped in to Homestead Nurseries the other day and they are planning on having a 'Pruning' class. I signed up! Hopefully I can learn more from the folks there too. It sure can't hurt and I'm really looking forward to it. Thanks again. Lily.
