Pruning apple and pear trees

[Mumbles]

Hi all
I have two apple and one pear tree and was under the impression that I pruned them once all the leaves had dropped, but have just read that some expert gardener is pruning hers now before any leaves have fallen. Any ideas?
Thanks


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[FB.]

Who is the "expert" gardener recommending this?
Usually pruning in autumn would be for a special purpose due to an unusual situation.

The damp, humid but often mild days of autumn (Sept-Nov) is the time that canker disease is most actively looking to start new infections.
Canker spores - billions of them - are scattered in the wind (sometimes from trees miles away) and the spores hope to land on the "wound" from where a leaf has just fallen at this time of year.
But a fresh pruning cut will be much appreciated by the canker spores as an additional large target where they can land, germinate and later spread to other parts of the tree.

Canker is not very active in the cold of winter, nor is it very active in the dry of summer. It may be active in wet summers.

The best time to prune apple or pear trees is during a dry, not-too-frosty spell in mid-winter around Jan (plums and cherries very late in winter around Mar).

If a tree is growing out of control it is possible to prune in mid-summer (July-August) but only the new growth should be cut back at that time; older shoots should not be pruned except in winter due to the risk of shocking the tree.

[Mumbles]

Thanks


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[stella]

I read as well that if you prune now it sets the buds for how much fruit you get next year??

[FB.]

I read as well that if you prune now it sets the buds for how much fruit you get next year??

If you need to increase fruit bud formation you should prune from Mid-July to mid-August.
However, on trees which are not sending out strong new growth this is more likely to kill them.

Pruning now will simply weaken the tree for next year with no gain of any kind (and a risk of allowing canker to enter wounds) because a tree pruned now won't be able to withdraw the valuable nutrients and sugars from the leaves for storing in the roots.
When the leaves turn yellow they are moving all their reserves to the roots in order to grow more roots before the ground freezes in winter (roots grow most just as the leaves are falling) and to draw on those reserves for blossoming and starting growth the following year (all that was drawn out of the leaves in autumn can go back into new leaves the next year - but if you cut off leaves now the tree will have to find more nutrients to grow leaves next year and the fruit may be half-starved as a result).

[orangepippin]

In many cases you can also increase fruit-bud formation by tying vertical shoots gently down to a more horizontal angle over the summer.

[stella]

In mid July to August the trees had apples on them, I am only just starting to pick the fruit now as they are a late variety. Also the leaves have not turned yellow yet, so I am a bit confused, the trees are 2 years old?

[FB.]

In mid July to August the trees had apples on them, I am only just starting to pick the fruit now as they are a late variety. Also the leaves have not turned yellow yet, so I am a bit confused, the trees are 2 years old?

In mid-July-mid-August you prune the new shoots back to two or three buds. You don't prune older wood while the tree has leaves on.
If your tree didn't send out new shoots then it's not in need of summer pruning. Generally speaking, summer pruning is either used to calm down trees which are putting all their energy into growth and no fruit, or it's used to keep a mature tree within its allowed space. But as I said: summer pruning should only involve new shoots. Older woody shoots should be pruned in winter (or in the case of plums/cherries prune them in very early spring ).

Some trees are very well-behaved and don't need pruning every year. Some rarely need pruning at all. Tip-bearing varieties are not ideal for anyone who will need to restrict the size because you can't prune the new shoots without pruning off the following year's crop.

[FB.]

Actually, the most skilled pruning technique is to achieve the desired tree shape and size using as few cuts as possible.
You don't prune a tree just because some book says "prune in summer" or "prune in winter" - you prune a tree if it needs pruning and you leave it alone if everything is just fine.
If in doubt and you want fruit, don't prune.