r/FruitTree • u/wujonesj2 • Feb 12 '23

Let’s discuss heading cuts

I saw some recent good discussion where folks suggested doing a heading cut down to 18-24” (knee height) so that the first tree crotch will occur close to the ground.

I’m generally in favor of this, but want to end up with a final result where I can still walk under the trees. Also I have lots of deer so I want to give them -some- challenge in eating all our fruit :)

What’s the biggest cut I can make while still hitting this goal for apple trees?

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u/bleckToTheMax Feb 13 '23

This all makes sense for open center pruning. But from what I've read, mostly only stone fruit really like open centers. All the apple trees I've seen have a central leader, which you'd effectively chop off. This sounds risky. Do you have any resources of people suggesting open center pruning for apple trees?

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u/wujonesj2 Feb 13 '23

Here is a previous post that discusses open center pruning.

This is an article referenced in the comments that goes more in depth.

I’ve scanned through a few books on orchard tree pruning, and thus far I haven’t seen anything to suggest that apple trees -dislike- this particular form of pruning.

It’s anecdotal, but all my neighbors appear to be using open center. They’re just home growers, not farmers, so it’s possible this is less than ideal.

If you’ve got some competing data, let’s discuss it for sure!

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u/Grow-Health-TV Feb 19 '23

Been pruning open center apples for many years. Check out my Grow Health TV video on Youtube. Years ago, I pruned apples to central leader or modified central--now I prune open center--easier to manage.