Pruning and thinning apples
Prune a bit, not a lot. Then thin the fruit, which feels wrong and is right.
When
Prune free-standing apple trees in winter, and trained shapes such as cordons and espaliers in late summer. RHS: How to grow apples
Winter pruning of bush and standard apple trees is done between November and early March. RHS: Winter pruning apples
Trained apples are summer-pruned from mid to late August, about ten days later in the north. RHS: Summer pruning apples
How much
Take off only about 10–20% of the canopy in any one winter. Prune too hard and the tree throws up lots of vigorous upright “watershoots”. RHS: Pruning apples made easy
A fully pruned tree might only need 10–20 cuts in total, mostly on branches 1–5cm thick. RHS: Pruning apples made easy
What you’re aiming for
Aim for an open centre, so light can ripen the fruit and air can move through the tree. RHS: Pruning apples made easy
Most of the fruit grows on young wood, one to four years old. RHS: Pruning apples made easy
On an established tree, thin crowded spurs so they are about 10–15cm apart. RHS: Winter pruning apples
Don’t give it a haircut
Don’t just trim the top like a haircut: it gives a thicket of non-fruiting shoots and cuts off the fruit of tip-bearers like ‘Bramley’ and ‘Discovery’. RHS: Pruning apples made easy
Some apples are tip-bearers or partial tip-bearers, fruiting at the ends of their shoots: ‘Blenheim Orange’, ‘Bramley’s Seedling’, ‘Discovery’, ‘Lord Lambourne’ and ‘Worcester Pearmain’, for example. RHS: Winter pruning apples
Summer pruning trained trees
In summer pruning, cut side-shoots longer than 20cm back to three leaves above the cluster at their base. RHS: Summer pruning apples
Established espaliers need pruning every year in late summer, or they slowly turn back into ordinary trees. RHS: Training an espalier
Things you don’t need to worry about
There’s no need for pruning paint on apple trees. RHS: Pruning apples made easy
Grey-green crusty growths on the branches are lichen, which does the tree no harm. RHS: Pruning apples made easy
Thinning the fruit
In early summer trees shed some young fruit by themselves. This is the “June drop”, and it’s normal. RHS: How to grow apples
Thin your apples after the June drop, finishing by mid-July. RHS: Thinning fruit
When thinning, also take off the “king” fruit at the centre of each cluster, which is sometimes oddly shaped. Leave one fruit per cluster. RHS: Thinning fruit
Thin cooking apples to one fruit every 15–23cm (6–9in), and eating apples to one or two every 10–15cm (4–6in). RHS: Thinning fruit
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