Hello everyone. I’ve been browsing the forums for sometime now, taking in all the information I can. I decided to make a profile and ask for some advice, since I couldn’t find what I was looking by researching online. I planted a small backyard orchard 3 years ago, mostly Apple but a few pears and a peach. 16 trees in total. All the apples are heirloom varieties on M111 rootstock. Two of the trees came into bearing this year. A lot of the apples have long, lanky and curving branching. I’ve attached two picture of the most sever examples. The first is a spitzenburg and the second is a wyken pippin. My question is how to remedy this? I suspect that I need to head the leader and laterals on these trees. I know trees can be pretty forgiving when it comes to pruning but I just wanted some extra advice since the trees a close to bearing. Thanks.
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Here we are, June of '24 & no one answered your question. I trust you did the best you could & the trees began to teach you how to handle each one. (After reading plenty of books, I learned most from individual cultivars on the ground.)
Too bad you didn’t know Wyken Pippin normally grows upward & remains spurry. I learned this from communicating directly with Nigel Deacon in the UK, who lives just south of where Wyken arose circa 1720. In answer to a question Nigel said topping Wyken produced a broom from that point on.
I hope to have Wyken growing here this season. If it gets too tall for me, I will bend the top over to stop its vertical growth.
As to E. Spitzenburg, I have tried its apple, grown by the Columbia River a couple times & wasn’t impressed. If I get another of its fruit, I’ll keep it until after Christmas & maybe find things I like.
How are your trees doing now?
BYW, I have Maiden Blush, which grows really vertical & began blooming last year. I cut some redundant branches & hope the weight of fruit will spread others. I might hang beer bottles with water in each to spread branches of Maiden Blush (neighbors & relatives find it comical).