Avoid pruning too much at once and to consult with a certified arborist if unsure about pruning techniques. Other tips include removing suckers and water sprouts, and cutting back to an outward facing bud. The best time to prune is during the dormant season. There are consequences of not pruning, including an overgrown tree with a shaded canopy, low fruit quality, and reduced productivity.

Pruning is also necessary to remove dead, diseased, and damaged wood, to increase light penetration, to heal wounds and reduce disease, to manage fruit load, and to maintain the shape and size of the tree.

Properly pruning apple trees will maximize healthy fruit production. Featured Fruit Tree Care Course Join 500+ students from across North America and beyond. Check out our articles, podcasts, videos and online courses. Best to go gentle in your annual pruning cycle and leave the tree with lots of room to grow leaves. It also covers proper pruning principles to create an open canopy, remove water sprouts, and encourage horizontal branching. free Ebook Grow Fruit Trees that thrive DOWNLOAD TODAY We help you grow healthy and productive fruit trees. The best management practices for all tree pruning apply to apple trees, including the 25 rule: don't remove 25 of photosynthetic capacity at any given pruning.

In this video, you will learn about how the structure of an apple tree supports fruit production and disease prevention.

Late winter is an excellent time to prune your backyard apple trees and proper pruning helps your trees to produce high-quality apples.

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