Can someone explain when you would prune fruit trees (apples) while
dormant as opposed summer pruning? Believe it or not, my trees are all
still reasonably dormant here in central MI (well, they are greening up
the cambium, but not yet budding out).
The apple trees that came with the house have not been pruned in the
better part of 15 years, I'd estimate. I took a fair amount of wood out
last spring (about 25%), and need to take a whole lot more. So, when is
the best time to remove a large amount of wood?
And, assuming I wanted to take 3/4+ of a tree out this year, when would
be the best time to do it? This one has the main trunk leaning well out
over the pasture next door (at about a 45% angle, at that). The horses
like it, but I'm afraid the tree is going to fall over. There is a nice
upright leader coming off the main trunk (well above the graft, if there
is one), and I was considering just whacking off the offending growth
right there. It is pretty much all or nothing. The chainsaw is sharp...
Thanks!
--
Robert G. Halgren, Ph.D.
Bioinformatics Specialist
GTSF - Michigan State University http://genomics.msu.edu
(517) 353-7236 - halgren@msu.edu
[NAFEX] Dormant vs. summer pruning,
Robert G. Halgren, 04/01/2003