Content

• Steps
• Tips
• You will need

Forest apple trees are fairly hardy trees that do not require heavy pruning to stimulate growth. Still, it may be worth pruning the forest apple tree to maintain its shape. In addition, dead branches that can cause disease, or extra branches that take valuable nutrients from the rest of the tree, should also be removed.

Steps

1. 1 Do the main pruning during the rest period. The ideal time for pruning apple trees is January or February, the colder months. You can prune earlier, in November or December, but wait until the first big cold snap is over to make sure the tree is dormant. The latest time for pruning is early March.
   • Note that as a last resort, you can prune the forest apple tree in early spring, around late March or early April. This can only be done when the weather is still rather cold and the tree has not yet begun to bloom intensively. Pruning should be done by June 1st as new flower buds start in June and July.
2. 2 Remove root growth. These are shoots that grow from the ground near the trunk of a tree. Young growth is thin and soft enough to be cut with sharp scissors. Cut off the root shoots at the base where they emerged from the ground.
   • Shoots are especially common on apple trees that have been grafted onto other trees or planted too deeply, but they can appear on any forest apple tree. If left alone, these shoots can develop into additional trunks that will flower and produce fruit. Unfortunately, the fruit that such a second trunk produces will be weaker, and the energy that the tree spends to grow this second trunk will weaken the tree.
3. 3 Remove Spinning Tops Spinning tops are thin, straight branches that grow vertically or nearly vertically from the main branch towards the center of the tree. These branches do not take a large amount of energy from the tree, however, they spoil its shape, do not produce flowers or fruits, so they must be removed. Cut them off at the base with sharp scissors.
4. 4 Remove dead or dying wood. Many of these branches are thick enough to be cut with a saw, but some may be thin and can be removed with scissors. In any case, you need to cut off such branches at the base.
   • A diseased or damaged tree branch must be removed to prevent the disease from spreading to the rest of the tree.
   • A branch that appears weaker may also die off due to age. To check if a branch is dead, look for buds. If you still can't tell if the branch is still alive, scratch it to remove the bark layer and expose the tissue underneath. If this tissue is white-green, then the branch is alive. If it is brown or black, the branch is dead.
5. 5 Cut the branches growing inside the crown. Sometimes a branch starts growing inward, towards the center of the tree, instead of growing out of the center. To maintain the shape of the tree, such branches must be removed. Cut them at the base, as close to the trunk as possible, but so as not to accidentally damage the trunk or other branches.
6. 6 Remove branches that intersect or grow too close to each other. Along with the branches growing inward, some branches deform, crossing or intertwining. Likewise, some first-order branches extend too close to each other from the trunk of the tree, which increases the likelihood of overlapping branches.
   • If the branches have already crossed, you will most likely need to cut both branches at the very base, as close to the tree trunk as possible.
   • If two branches grow close to each other, but do not intersect yet, you can delete only one of them. Saw off the weaker or more poorly placed branch at the very bottom.
7. 7 You can cut down the lower branches if you wish. Low-lying branches can interfere with walking, mowing, or other activities in which you pass under the tree. If so, you can cut these lower branches closer to the trunk. If you do not care about such problems, you can leave these branches.
8. 8 Cut off the emerging vertical tops and root shoots in the summer. You may notice the appearance of tops or rootlets throughout the growing season. Prune them as soon as they appear, do not wait for the main pruning. Removing them redirects energy to the parts of the apple tree that you want to preserve, and it is often easier to remove them right away than to do it later.

Tips

• Do not trim the tips of your forest apple tree branches. Each branch contains dormant buds along its entire length. By cutting off the tip of a branch, you act on these buds and redirect the energy of the tree to them. This process can be beneficial for other trees and plants, but not desirable for forest apple trees. New shoots formed from these previously dormant buds will turn into branches that distort the tree's shape.

You will need

• Sharp garden shears
• Saw