Pruning apple and pear trees – a masterclass
Pruning fruit trees promotes health, maximises fruit yield, and maintains manageable height. In this video series, Master Gardener Dan Ori covers the basics of pruning apple and pear trees. Further training and hands-on sessions will be held at the new Peverells Community Orchard in Seaford. Please contact us or join the mailing list for details.
This material was delivered at a workshop at Peacehaven Community Orchard, and supported by Trees for Seaford, the Ouse Valley Climate Action Fund and the Sussex Community Development Association.
How to Prune Apple and Pear Trees – Part 1 (basic pruning)
In this 15 minute introductory video Dan covers:
- The overall aims of pruning
- What to prune: dead, diseased and damaged branches
- How to prune: cutting branches safely (for you and the tree), pruning angles and cutting to ‘the collar’
- Understanding how branches cross under the weight of fruit and how this affects what you prune
- Understanding how fruit trees grow – how and why to remove new growth
How to Prune Apple and Pear Trees – Part 2 (pruning a leader)
In this 5 minute video Dan covers:
- Why and how to reduce the leader
- Dealing with suckering growth
- How to deal with low growing branches
How to Prune Apple and Pear Trees – Part 3 (pruning tip bearing trees)
In this 10 minute video Dan covers:
- How to prune tip-bearing trees
- Splitting and damage to branches
- More about leaders and crossing branches
Some terminology and links:
Rootstocks: most fruit trees aren’t grown on their own roots – they are grafted onto the roots of another tree. This means that the size of the tree, and conditions in which it can grow, can be controlled. There’s a helpful guide on the Frank P Matthew website.
Tip and spur bearing fruit trees: most apple trees are ‘spur-bearing’, which means the fruit develops along the lengths of the branches. However, some varieties are tip-bearing’, which means they only develop fruit at the tips of the branches. There’s a short video from Chiltern Heritage Orchard which explains it well.
Cutting to a collar: it’s important to cut just outside the branch collar, which is the slight swelling or rougher bark where the branch meets the trunk. Cutting too close to the trunk can damage the tree and risks disease entering.
The leader: the tree’s leader is the tallest stem that grows vertically upwards. Dan explains in Part 2 how you can prune the leader to control growth.