The Sun is out , the shears , lopers and pole pruning pole blade are all sharp so it’s time to get out there and prune those apple trees . Yes , a bit early as some recommend mid Winter as the optimal time for this chore but by that time , and at this stage in my life , my mind ( whats left of it ) is buttoning up for the Winter ! Now with leaves having gone its easy to see all the ones I missed last year like the so called “ water sprouts “ , those pesky straight up to the sky non apple producing new branches that pull a lot of energy from the rest of the tree , clip em low as the are not going to give you anything but more headaches later ! And those inward growing branches… get them gone as well , theres an old saying that “ a bird should be able to fly through the center of the tree without hitting its wings “ but disregard that … just enough to allow fresh air and sunshine in is fine thank you , let the birds fly over the tops where they belong ! Finally Experts say prune no more than 20% of the tree away … really , just use your best judgment for the best results for you , I mean , did the damned “ Experts” bust their collective ass’s buying and planting and getting Your trees to this point … didn’t think so ! In closing I realize that I have not given all the knowledge or advice that I should , just go look at Your trees they will tell you whats needed and what needs to go or … just Google it ! Happy pruning 👍!

fearedd i did the peaches too soon, but honestly, glad to do it few weeks ago rather than feb when fingertips go numb before first tree is done

Well … five of the ten trees got done today . I forgot to warn anyone who has a little OCD going on , its going to a bit longer per tree as you stand away and have second thoughts about cutting that one branch , then , thats it I’m going in for that branch …maybe… 🤦‍♂️! Anyway I finished up after my usual late , light lunch provided by my Supervisor lol , cleaned all the tools then in to spend some time with my recliner , which was looking kinda lonely . Enjoy your evening Folks !

I started on one tree and then decided that was good enough. Until walking past another and a large number of suckers suddenly offended me. So I cut those real quick before walking away.

I’ve got some bigger limbs on a couple of trees I want to get rid of. Either they’re low and a pain in the ass to mow around or they seem to me to be throwing off the tree’s growth. Kinda leaning disproportionately one way. This ain’t the weather to cut those though. Plus I want to be absolutely sure.

3 hours ago, Chris said:

I’ve got some bigger limbs on a couple of trees I want to get rid of.

if they are on peach trees, you should really only have 3 or 4 main beams, rest you want to maintain pencil-thick, red growth( previous years growth is what puts on fruit)

cut anything growing towards center of tree, anything growing straight up, crossing other branches....almost treat them like grape vines( not QUITE as aggressive though)

8 hours ago, ADAM said:

if they are on peach trees, you should really only have 3 or 4 main beams, rest you want to maintain pencil-thick, red growth( previous years growth is what puts on fruit)

I’ll have you check my work when I get done with them. Last year the peaches came in nicely but then rotted on the tree. I believe you said I needed to open things up more.

13 hours ago, Chris said:

Kinda leaning disproportionately one way. This ain’t the weather to cut those though. Plus I want to be absolutely sure.

I have a couple like that , I could cut the side branch ( as recommended) but I too will wait to decide whether or not to remove them . I remember at Reisingers ( sp) Orchard there were a few trees that had been pruned “ back to the main leader “ ending up misshapen, but adding some character and ending up quite productive after all ! Training these types is quite easily done by pruning a bit heavily on the outside canopy and lightly , if at all , on the inside ( over the cut ) forcing or encouraging heavier growth to that side .