How to Prune a Huge Old Apple Tree

[hdaviesmt]

I am wondering if anyone has any experience with pruning very old apple trees. I have gone through the forum and found many helpful posts and websites for pruning, but I was hoping to get some more information on pruning old, non-maintained apple trees. The tree in question is about 35 ft tall and is amazingly productive - to the point that I have to remove many apples so that the lower limbs don't break. I have been gradually working on my other apple trees by removing the top 1/3 of the tree and leaving the bottom branches relatively untouched for 1 to 2 years. I am concerned that if I use the same method on this tree, the bottom branches will bear even more fruit and, quite frankly, create more work in removing the unripe fruite. Has anyone done an overall, extensive pruning on an old, overgrown tree?

[Kisal]

I'm not certain, but the type of apple it is might make a difference. I have a Gravenstein apple tree that is about 65 years old. When I moved into this house 20 years ago, the tree hadn't been pruned for many, many years. I hired a licensed arborist to do the initial pruning, and after that, I took care of it myself until I was no longer able to do so. Then I hired another arborist to care for it regularly. It's a lovely tree and is still going great.

[hdaviesmt]

Thanks Kisal. I honestly don't have the faintest idea what type of apple it is. It has yellow skin with read streaks, although that could be a cross pollination from the tree next to it, and it is very sour! I'll try to post a pic if you wouldn't mind trying to identify it.

[jdeb]

The trick is not to be brutal - old trees can't take being cut back too hard.

Otherwise, prune away - we have a number of stock apple trees that must be 70-80 years old and we prune them every year.

Good luck

[SG6]

Cut out any vertical growth.
Remove growth that is dead, diseased or crossing.
Then stand back and have at look at the basic structure.
If it is big I suspect that this will be enough for the first year.

After that it is really a case of pruning back to a suitable size and shape with a reasonable number of main branches. Say about 5 main branches.

As jdeb says don't be too brutal take a couple of years or more.

[hdaviesmt]

Thanks so much everyone! You've given me the confidence to get going on it now. I grew up with a mother whose adage for gardening was 'If it wants to live, it will'. I don't have that same gumption when it comes to old trees. Don't worry, I won't prune until late this fall, but I've found that marking the branches to be cut now makes it a lot easier when the leaves and fruit are gone

[hdaviesmt]

Thanks to everyone, I have apples twice the size of last year's crop. Can't thank you enough!

[cynthia_h]

Thank you so much for the update! It's always good to hear that things worked out, and in this case they worked out *very well*!

Congratulations on your wonderful crop of apples. Now that the tree and you have come to a mutual understanding, I wish you many such crops!

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9