I inherited these trees on my property. Any suggestions on what do do with them this year? The first is a Red Delicious. I’m not sure about the other one.
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I wish my neglected trees looked that good!! I think they’re not too bad. You should search the site for pruning advice for mature apple trees.
In general, you’ll want to try to make a sort of Christmas tree shape by cutting back the top tier of branches so they’re not shading the lower tier. Make thinning cuts not heading cuts. Then, thin out a bunch of scraggly stuff and cut out any branches that are crossing.
Don’t cut off all the fruiting spurs (look at the 1-2-3 renewal pruning article - it’s got good pictures) and I found it helpful to leave some strong upright growth at the top - it seemed to reduce them showing up other places. I’d also leave some upright growth in a couple other places - those can become branches once bent and unshaded.
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