old3dogg Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Would it be okay to prune my apple tree this time of year? It already has blossoms on it. I heard one should only prune during months that end in "r". True or old wives tell? I was out mowing and noticed the tree needs shaped up. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 You can prune any time of year but it could have detrimental effects in the form of disease, less or no fruit, and a general weakening of the tree. If you gotta do it and the tree's not a treasure then go ahead. Just don't do anything major that can be delayed till early spring, like Jan to Mar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old3dogg Posted April 23, 2010 Author Share Posted April 23, 2010 You can prune any time of year but it could have detrimental effects in the form of disease, less or no fruit, and a general weakening of the tree. If you gotta do it and the tree's not a treasure then go ahead. Just don't do anything major that can be delayed till early spring, like Jan to Mar. I dont want to kill it. Pretty nice tree. It just need a little off the top. As far as the apples? I feed those to the deer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Every time you make an opening in a tree's bark at this time of year you are creating a wound into which disease could enter, and advertised wound treatments don't really work. In the winter those diseases are mostly inactive. You make larger wounds on a tree than on a shrub which can be pruned other times. If it's not absolutely necessary I would wait. One corrective cut would be all I would try on a fruit tree at this time of year. One of my pet peeves is people who top off trees. They should just chop them down and be done with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old3dogg Posted April 23, 2010 Author Share Posted April 23, 2010 Thanks. I will leave it be until fall. Hope we have one this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tompepper Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 there are no months that end in r,but you can safley prune or transplant a tree or shrub in any mth which contains an r,Sept thru april.trans planted plants seem to do better when done while it is raining Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 This is a bad time to prune an apple tree. Prune it while it is dormant. The tree is in active growth and will put out new growth and new leaves to replace the lost mass, weakening it. It may have little effect if the tree is healthy but you never know. The only flowering trees/bushes that you prune in the summer are things like lilacs and rhododendron's that set flower buds before fall. Those you prune after they bloom. This insures that you will have blooms for the next season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geezerwriter Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 On our drive through virginia we see a huge apple orchard off I-81 with trees that are no more than 12-15 feet tall. I don't LIKE tall apple trees. But I can't top off one; it's at least 40 feet high. The apples wither in the high altitude. I do trim grape vines and lilac bushes now, though I usually wait until just after the lilacs bloom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harvey Mungaknuts Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 there are no months that end in r, SeptembeR, OctobeR, NovembeR, DecembeR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted April 24, 2010 Share Posted April 24, 2010 On our drive through virginia we see a huge apple orchard off I-81 with trees that are no more than 12-15 feet tall. I don't LIKE tall apple trees. But I can't top off one; it's at least 40 feet high. The apples wither in the high altitude. I do trim grape vines and lilac bushes now, though I usually wait until just after the lilacs bloom. It's better to plant dwarf or semi-dwarf apple trees than to try to keep a standard sized one small. No point in working against nature be it trees or people. Please continue to allow the upper apples to wither. We've had two people fall out of our old apple tree now. It's like Charlie Brown's kite tree except it goes after people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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