Lesson 4
Pruning for shape and fruiting
Apples and pears fruit on different wood, and this dictates pruning. Apples fruit on two-year-old wood and on short stubby spurs that build up over many years. Pears fruit almost entirely on spurs. Your job is to build a strong framework of branches and encourage spur development, not to let the tree exhaust itself with vertical water shoots that bear no fruit.
Prune in winter, between December and early March, when the tree is dormant. The goal in the first three years is to establish a goblet shape: an open centre with four or five main branches radiating outwards at 45 degrees from a short trunk of 60–75 cm. Cut back the central leader to an outward-facing bud at the height you want the first branch. The tree will respond by sending out side shoots; choose the best four or five, evenly spaced, and remove the rest. Shorten the chosen branches by one-third to an outward-facing bud; this encourages them to thicken and branch.
From year four onwards, switch to maintenance pruning. Remove the four Ds: dead, diseased, damaged and crossing wood. Then look for congested growth in the centre and take out entire branches to let light into the canopy. Finally, shorten the tips of the main branches by 10–15 cm to encourage spur formation and reduce the risk of wind rock. Pears tolerate harder pruning than apples; if a pear tree becomes a thicket, you can take out a quarter of the canopy in one winter without harm.
Summer pruning is for trained forms like espaliers and cordons. In late July or early August, cut back the current season's green growth on side shoots to three leaves from the base. This diverts energy into fruit bud formation and keeps the shape tight. Never summer-prune a free-standing tree — it will respond with a flush of weak growth that is prone to canker.
Common mistakes
- Pruning in late spring when the sap is rising — this invites silver leaf and canker
- Taking off too little each year and ending up with an impenetrable tangle by year ten
- Summer-pruning free-standing trees, which triggers vegetative regrowth
- Leaving stubs instead of cutting back to a bud or branch collar
- Pruning a newly planted tree hard to 'help it establish' — this delays cropping
Winter pruning routine for established trees
- 1.Remove dead, diseased, damaged or crossing wood entirely.
- 2.Take out one or two whole branches from the centre if the canopy is congested.
- 3.Shorten the tips of main branches by 10–15 cm to a bud facing the direction you want growth.
- 4.Cut back last year's side shoots to three or four buds to build up fruiting spurs.
- 5.Stand back every few cuts and check the shape — aim for a wine glass, not a haystack.
If a branch is thicker than your thumb and you are unsure whether to remove it, leave it — you can always take it out next winter.