(The following is adapted from my book THE PRUNING BOOK, available from the usual sources or directly from me, signed, on this website.)

Renovation Instead of Despair

How many of us have inherited neglected, overgrown, old apple trees with our property? Yes, such trees do have charm, their gnarled, elbowed branches seemingly ready to reach out to offer a hug. Their fruits, however, usually leave much to be desired. More often than not they’re too small, too high in the tree, and too pest-ridden. These problems are largely the result of unfettered growth, the tree growing so large and dense with branches that it has shaded itself into nonproductivity and disease-inducing dankness.

No need for despair: such a tree can be returned to its former glory by “renovation,” as corrective pruning of an old tree is called.

Neglected old apple tree

Before picking up any pruning tool, ask yourself whether your efforts will be justified. Is the tree of a particularly good variety (although fruit quality may be hard to judge on a neglected tree)? Do you really want a tree where that tree stands? Would one or more dwarf trees, which can be cared for with your feet on terra firma, make more practical sense? Always consider the option, before beginning renovation, of “pruning” that tree with a chainsaw — at ground level.

First Steps, Drastic

Still want to go ahead and renovate that old tree. Begin now, while it’s dormant. The first tool needed is a chainsaw or large bow saw. Use either saw to drastically cut back one or two large limbs. This operation quickly lowers the tree and opens up what remains to light and air. Lowering the tree makes picking easier. Letting in more light provides nourishment for fruit buds and, along with better air circulation, reduces disease problems by hastening drying of leaves and fruits. (It may be wise to hire a professional to do these first cuts, depending on how drastic they are.)

Even though many large, lofty limbs may still remain in your tree, cut back only one or two of them this year. Cutting back too many in one season would cause once-shaded bark to sunburn. If necessary, repeat the process on one or two new limbs next year, and again, if necessary, the following year.

It’s impossible to give an exact prescription for just how far back to cut these large limbs. The amount depends on the shape you finally want for the tree as well as its present arrangement of branches. Three to six feet above ground level is about right. Remember that new fruiting wood will begin above whatever height you cut a limb back to.

Ideally, these large cuts are back to well-placed side branches. But don’t worry if no side branch is growing off near your cut, because new sprouts, the tree’s future limbs, will grow from dormant buds.

In fact, new sprouts — much too many of them — will appear all over the place. Remove most of them.

Waterspouts on pruned tree

The easiest way to do this is to visit your tree every few weeks through spring and summer, then firmly grab any wayward sprout with your hand and give it a sharp downward jerk. Save those that are well-placed as far as spacing and height of origin to make new limbs.

Any wayward sprouts that you miss during spring and summer could also be pruned this time next year, but subsequent resprouting from their bases is more like than from those ripped off by hand in active growth. Be ruthless with sprout removal because if too many new branches crowd each other, the tree will be back where it started with shaded, dank branches.

Apple waterspout, grown large

Easy Stuff

Let’s get back to today’s pruning. After you’ve made your one or two drastic cuts, progress to more detailed pruning with a small pruning saw and a lopper. Look over the branches for any that are dead, broken, or diseased. Buds and stems on dead wood appear shriveled and lifeless, in contrast to those on living wood, which are plump.

Dead or broken limbs provide possible entry for disease. Bark on diseased wood will have various colored fungi growing out of it, or dark, sunken lesions. Cut back dead, broken, or diseased branches to sound wood.

Also remove stems that are overcrowded or weak. Such stems typically grew in deep shade and droop downwards. Either cut them off completely or else shorten them to the point where they start their downward arc.

Details

The final and most detailed cuts are of the spurs. Spurs are those short, stubby branches —each only an inch or two long — on which fruits are born.

Apple spurs (too many)

Old apple trees commonly have too many spurs, and spreading a trees’ resources among so many fruits is what causes them to be small and poor-quality. Use hand held pruning shears to completely remove some spurs, and to remove just a side branch or two from others.

Spur thinning

Don’t be alarmed at all the potential fruits you’re removing. Each flower bud on an apple spur unfolds to five blossoms, and an apple tree typically yields best quality harvests when no more than about five percent of its potential blossoms set fruit!

Before and after year one of renovation

For the finishing touch on renovation, tidy up the bark. Crevices formed where old bark is flaking off provide refuge for pests such as codling moth larvae. Scrape the bark clean with a short handled hoe or some balled up chicken wire. Be gentle, though — remove only the loose surface bark.

Finally, stand back and admire your work. Cleaned up, an old apple tree looks even more charming than it did when it was neglected and overgrown. Now give your tree a hug.

Well pruned, old apple tree, after a few years of renovation