Prune apples

28th February 2021

Prune free-standing apples and pears to control their growth and promote fruiting; prune to remove crowded and crossing branches and improve air circulation, which will help to avoid disease problems later on in the year. Fruiting spurs on most types of apple should be cut back to two buds to encourage fruit formation. Very few apples are just tip bearers (forming fruit buds at the end of shoots) most are tip and spur, so if you don’t know what variety of apple you are pruning you won’t lose much crop by treating it is a spur bearer.