How to Prune Apple & Pear Trees

First Year / Planting Year / Establishment Year

When you receive your trees, please follow the initial planting instructions. These include instructions for the heading cuts you should make directly after planting.

Second Year / First Pruning 

Apples and pears are ideally pruned dormant. Always bear in mind the importance of light penetration and good airflow for tree health, and that pruning cuts made during the dormant season will invigorate your trees, promoting growth during the growing season. 

Regardless of whether you are training your trees for an open-vase or a central-leader form, these basic guidelines should be followed:

• Select the lowest tier of scaffolds (permanent branches). You should have 3-4 scaffolds distributed around the trunk, 2-4' from the ground.
• Remove any shoots below your scaffolds with flush cuts.
• Remove any nearby competing shoots around the scaffolds.
• Ensure that there is a single central leader (apical dominance) by removing competing shoots. Even if your ultimate goal is an open-vase form, you will leave the leader intact this year.
• If your longterm plan is a central-leader form, be careful not to remove what will be your second tier of scaffolds, about 24-30" above the first tier, but you can remove any shoots between the two tiers. Don’t get carried away with pruning this year. For a tree this young, 2-3 major cuts are usually sufficient. 

Third Year and Subsequent Years

• Remove dead or sick material.
• Maintain apical dominance (of scaffolds and central leader) by removing competing shoots.
• Remove suckers and vigorous waters sprouts.
• Remove downwarding growth.
• Maintain integrity of desired scaffolds by removing competition.
• Remove excessive growth high in the tree to maintain overall triangular form (unless your tree is open-vase) and allow light penetration through the tree.

As your tree matures, the key to pruning is to find a balance. You want to be able to throw a cat through the tree when you are done, but you do not want to over-invigorate the tree with excessing pruning. By and large, most people do not make enough cuts. Think about that cat!

Renewal Pruning

This pruning method is appropriate for high-density plantings. The aim is to encourage a constant production of one, two, and three year growth.

• No branches are permanent.
• A branch should never have a diameter greater than half that of the central leader at its point of connection. 
• No branch should be older than four years. 

Pears

A note on pears: These trees are very upright and their scaffolds tend to grow at tighter angles than those of apple trees. Scaffolds can be spread to encourage airflow, light, and productivity. There are a number of different ways to spread pear scaffolds: you can tie the branches to the central leader below with twine, or you can use weights or spreaders.