All posts tagged: pruning

Pruning – 5 top tips

Off 16th February 2011

This is a good time to be pruning your apple trees.

Here are the top tips from Orchard Pig on how to care for your apple trees – you can do this whether you have one or a whole orchard.

  1. Focus on the leader of your tree; height is key. Single out the leading branch to get the tree to grow tall and straight.
  2. The trunk should be a smooth cylindrical shape. If there are branches that are restricting that shape remove them so that the flow is upwards.
  3. You can remove up to 25% of fruiting wood
  4. Cut in the right place, always back to the main trunk.
  5. Be brave ;)

The apple orchard pruning begins prior to new growth after its Wassail blessing.

Further links

  • Weekend of orchard management in Somerset – A photoset on Flickr
  • There is a fantastic resource of seasonal tips over the the Orchard Pig Blog
  • Read the Orchard Ground Force Newsletter – February 2011 – PDF download

How to prune an apple tree

Off 21st January 2010

As a follow up to the orchard management post, I thought it would be useful to publish a 3 minute video on why, and how to prune apple trees.

There is a whole art and science behind managing and maintaining that your fruit trees stay healthy all year round, however the basics here are all you need to get started.

If you have any tips or advice for other visitors on the Real Cider community please let us know either below in the comments or at the cider forum.