Today we pruned our apples and pears. Pruning can be intimidating for the beginning gardener. I've done a few posts that I think are very beneficial to help you understand where fruit grows on apples and pears. Understanding the fruiting habits of different fruit trees is essential before you prune because one of the goals of pruning is to increase fruiting not prune it all off.
After you understand where apples and pears bear fruit you are ready to prune. I've written a post that I hope is simple yet includes enough information that you can confidently go out and prune with good results.
Here are the before and after shots of the apple and pear trees I pruned.
Before:
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| This is a Gala before pruning. |
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| The Gala after pruning |
Before:
Before: This is a Sungold with a very upright growth habit. It has lots of congestion in the center with crossing and rubbing branches. Half the tree suffered deer damage.
After: I pruned this tree very heavily and opened up the center. I'm trying to encourage a more outward growth habit. The deer damage has left it lope-sided unfortunately.
Before:
Before: A pear with lots of growth that needs pruning. Pears tend to grow tall and upright. The fruit will bend down some of the branches.
