Lifestyle: apple tree pruning – or lack thereof
Lifestyle tutoring takes the front once again, as the tutor mentions some observations about this season’s apple harvest.
I’m no pruning expert, but I do know some principles about it. Normally I prune the apple tree during winter.
Last year, pruning escaped me. Ironically, part of the reason might have been that we had so much snow, pruning simply couldn’t be done a couple of times I thought of it. When next I contemplated it, leaves were already budding, so I left it.
The growing season put a bumper crop on the apple tree this year: several of its branches sank to the ground, heavy with fruit. I went out to pick them September 18: see my post here.
Harvesting the apples, I noticed some trends which were likely more evident due to my lack of pruning:
- The upward-pointing branches didn’t produce any apples – none at all.
- In places where the branches were crowded, the apples were thick, but much more likely to be damaged by pests.
Of course, one key mandate of pruning is to eliminate crowding – now I see why. Normally, I would likely have pruned the upward-pointing branches, since they’re harder to pick apples from anyway.
BTW: the apples aren’t all picked yet, but most have been. They’re not falling off yet.
I must remember to prune this winter:)
Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.
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