What advice do you have for pruning semi-draft apple trees?
Question:
Can I have someone or can you recommend someone who can give me some on-site apple pruning advice? I have three semi-dwarf trees that aren’t neglected, but just amateurly pruned every year. I have a lot of what I think is excess growth on these 15 year old trees.
Answer:
If you believe your tree is in need of professional help you should hire a professional. Since we are an educational institution we cannot recommend retailers or service providers. If it were my tree, I would look at the state’s list of professional arborists and contact one that is in my area. At that same site, they also have a link to a fact sheet on how to hire an arborist. We do not have the capacity to do site visits.
If you want to attempt it yourself then we have a video on pruning apples. If there is a lot of excess growth then you may want to consider renovating it. In either case, a lot of excess growth is usually the result of tentative or half-hearted pruning rather than cutting things back hard and really shaping the tree.