Pruning old apple trees in autumn + video for beginners

Probably, at least one apple tree grows on every personal plot. This fruit tree generously gives its harvest to the owner, requiring only a little attention in return. The minimum care for the plant is pruning. Young seedlings are pruned to form a crown, but old trees are rejuvenated in this way. In order to properly carry out the procedure for rejuvenating old apple trees, you need to know the principles and optimal timing for its implementation.

Why prune old apple trees

Uncontrolled growth of an apple tree can lead to the fact that the plant will obscure the entire garden plot, and at the same time stop producing crops. Old apple trees without rejuvenation may die altogether. At the same time, pruning allows you to replace old branches with young, fruit-bearing shoots and form a beautiful compact crown of the plant. Rejuvenation of old apple trees allows you to increase productivity due to the competent redistribution of nutrients. On properly formed trees, each branch receives the necessary amount of sunlight, which contributes to the uniform, full ripening of fruits. The absence of excess greenery ensures normal air circulation, preventing the spread of diseases and insect pests.

Thus, pruning old apple trees allows you to get a beautiful, neat tree on the site and a tasty, “healthy” crop of ripe fruits.

When is the best time to prune a fruit tree?

Among gardeners, disputes do not stop, when is it better to cut apple trees: in spring or autumn? Each gardener has his own opinion on this matter.

Professionals recommend:

• Prune young seedlings in spring, before the active stage of juice movement begins. This will avoid the freezing of a still fragile tree in the winter.
• In autumn, old apple trees should be pruned. With a decrease in temperature, they fall into a dormant state, and pruning causes minimal damage to them. Until spring, all wounds will heal, and the apple tree will begin its new life cycle without stunting. Winter frosts for the plant in this case are not terrible.
• In summer, you can cut only some branches to thin out the crown on the apple tree.
• In the southern regions, young seedlings and adult apple trees can be cut in winter, but this procedure must be carried out very carefully so as not to damage the fragile frozen crown.

Analyzing the above recommendations, we can say that pruning old apple trees in the fall is optimal. It allows you to rejuvenate a tree without causing it suffering. Already with the onset of spring, such a plant will delight with fresh greens and give away tasty, large fruits in a timely manner in large quantities.

It is necessary to cut the apple tree in the fall at a time when the foliage has already fallen and the movement of juice in the body of the plant has stopped, but in this case it is not worth waiting for frosts. Unfortunately, it is not possible to name the exact date for the event due to the climatic features of each region. So, each owner must independently monitor the weather forecast and cut the fruit tree about 3-4 weeks before the onset of stable frosts.

Basic pruning rules

Throughout the entire growing period, starting from the moment the seedling is planted, the gardener must prune the apple tree annually, observing the basic rules and principles. They depend to a greater extent on the age of the fruit tree: the first 5 years it is necessary to form a crown, then care consists in removing improperly growing and diseased branches. An apple tree that is 20 years old is considered old and needs to be rejuvenated. Unlike sanitary pruning and thinning, the procedure for rejuvenating an apple tree in the fall should be carried out according to the following rules:

• It is necessary to rejuvenate only healthy apple trees, which after the procedure will be able to fully develop and bear fruit. Trees that have a lot of dry and diseased, broken branches should be replaced with completely young seedlings. There is no point in cutting them.
• When rejuvenating, large branches must be removed, therefore, to minimize damage, the event must be carried out at a time when the plant is at rest.
• In the process of rejuvenation, care should be taken to remove the branches that most prevent the penetration of sunlight deep into the crown.
• Before proceeding with rejuvenation, you need to prepare a saw and a pruner. The tool must be sharp and disinfected.
• Rejuvenation is recommended to begin with the removal of the largest branches. Using the principle: it is better to remove one large branch than many small ones.
• All branches must be removed at the very trunk, leaving no stumps. This will prevent the development of diseases on the cut.
• All broken, dry and improperly growing branches are subject to mandatory removal.

Rejuvenate a tree quickly does not work, so you should be patient. For the full implementation of the procedure, it will take 2-3 years, depending on the neglect of the apple tree. Pruning of old and diseased, as well as “extra” branches in accordance with the above proposed rules, should be carried out in the first and second years of rejuvenation. Pruning a large number of branches in one year can lead to the death of the plant.

The final stage of formation should be carried out in a gentle mode, observing the rules:

• Massive skeletal branches need to be cut, leaving a section 3,5 m long.
• You need to remove old shoots that interfere with the development of young branches.
• Old branches under actively developing young shoots should be removed.

It is quite easy to form mature trees that at the initial stage of cultivation had a clear crown contour and were regularly thinned. In this case, rejuvenation can be carried out in 1-2 years without much effort and damage to the plant. It is much more difficult to correctly form a neglected old tree, which has grown its green mass uncontrollably over the years. In this case, you must follow the following rules:

• You need to shorten the old apple tree by 1/3 of the entire height.
• The most dense parts of the crown need to be thinned out.
• Branches that have already stopped growing and have not developed for several years must be removed.
• In one year, no more than 2-3 large branches 10-15 cm thick should be removed.
• Small fruiting branches must be cut into several buds in order to activate growth and make them stronger.
• Sections on branches up to 2 cm in diameter heal painlessly and quickly.
• The lower branches on the apple tree should not obscure the upper shoots.
• The formation of old apple trees is easier to carry out according to the chosen scheme for several years.

After reviewing the principles and rules, it becomes clear how to rejuvenate an old apple tree. Based only on the proposed theses, you can develop your own strategy and form the crown of an apple tree competently, giving it a decorative look and restoring vitality. The trimming schemes proposed below will help to visually assess the scale and technology of the work.

Schemes for the formation of old apple trees

Old apple trees can be formed arbitrarily, focusing on the basic principles and rules, or adhering to a certain pattern. The trimming scheme can be any, in various sources you can find a lot of options. We will try to describe two schemes for pruning old apple trees in the fall. One option will be of interest to busy and novice gardeners, and the second option on how to rejuvenate an apple tree is intended more for professionals.

A simple option for rejuvenating old apple trees

A simple scheme for the formation of apple trees is based on the basic rules of rejuvenation. Its principle is as follows:

• Be sure to remove diseased, broken and dry branches.
• Shorten all healthy branches by 2 m.
• When rejuvenating, open each branch to the sun as much as possible.

This scheme is clearly shown in the picture:

Pruning an old apple tree according to this scheme should begin with the removal of dry, diseased and broken branches. You also need to slightly thin out the crown, located close to the trunk. These actions are recommended to be performed in the first year of formation. Next fall, it will be necessary to shorten each branch of the apple tree by 1,5-2 meters. In the third year of formation, it is recommended to remove a third of all young shoots. It is necessary to thin out the branches and carry out sanitary pruning every year. The method duplicates the biological laws of plant development and is one of the most gentle. It is he who is most often used by novice gardeners in their practice.

Modern way of rejuvenation

For professionals and experienced gardeners, it is recommended to use one coordinate method for rejuvenating an old apple tree. It is carried out in 2 stages, and the time interval between stages can be several years. To make it clear how to properly cut an old apple tree in the fall in accordance with this modern technology, we will try to give a detailed description of it and visual pictures:

• In autumn, make a deep pruning on an old apple tree, removing most of the crown from the south side. It is recommended to leave a green “hat” 3 m high and 2 m wide.
• When carrying out deep pruning, you should try to make as few cuts as possible.
• All saw cuts must be treated with garden pitch. Sections on thick branches should be additionally wrapped with black polyethylene for the speedy healing of wounds.
• After the southern formed side gives the first flowering and fruits, you can resort to pruning the rest of the crown. This second stage of rejuvenation can occur after 3-4 years. It should be carried out in the fall, following the same rules that were used when pruning the south side of the tree.

You can rejuvenate not only the aerial part of the apple tree, but also its roots. Root rejuvenation should be done in the spring. To do this, it is necessary to dig a trench 4 m wide from the stem of the plant and 60-70 cm deep. Over the entire area of ​​the trench, you need to cut the roots a little. Sprinkle nutrient soil over the remaining root system with the addition of phosphate and potash fertilizers.

The two proposed methods of rejuvenation require a lot of time and, unfortunately, one should not expect a quick result from such actions. This is probably why some gardeners advise to carry out cardinal pruning of the apple tree in one year, reducing the crown on the tree by 3-5 times at once. Of course, such a decision can be justified in some cases, but for a fruit tree such a deep pruning will be stressful and it is likely that the apple tree will not survive such changes at all.

You can learn some erroneous points in rejuvenating old apple trees from the video:

Conclusion

It is rather difficult for beginner gardeners to immediately understand and assimilate all of the above information, so we suggest watching a video clip in which a specialist will show by example how to cut an old apple tree and give some practical advice on the implementation of the rejuvenation procedure:

The result of the rejuvenation of a pruned apple tree can be seen in the video:

A visual demonstration allows you to assess the need for this procedure: a mass of fresh, green shoots and a lush crown give the old tree a new life, and after a few years the renewed plant will thank the competent owner with a delicious harvest for the care and efforts shown.