Pruning a mature apple tree

To keep an apple or pear tree productive, winter pruning is advisable. The dormant season is the perfect chance to reshape the canopy, remove congested branches in the centre and promote the kind of growth that will maximise fruiting. Giving it an open habit will help keep your tree healthy. If you haven’t done it for a while, don’t go overboard. It’s never a good idea to remove more than a third of a tree’s total top growth in one hit. Instead, do the following each winter until you have an open, goblet shape, ideal for fruit production.

Improve harvests by pruning apple trees every winter