Pruning advice for a Dwarf Apple Tree

acerlover86

Hello all,

I bought a patio dwarf apple tree (‘Keelie’) a couple of months ago, and as Autumn is now upon us I would like to prune it sometime in the next few months so that I can get a better spread going on as it looks a bit odd at the moment. Google hasn’t been much of a help for this variety of apple tree.

Yet again I've bought a tree on discount which may explain its appearance, so if anyone could kindly give me some advice on how to get a better spread or whether it needs to be pruned at all, that'd be great!

Thanks!

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Eden Keeper

As far as I know (including some knowledge gleaned from the largest orchard in Alabama) apple pruning methods depend more on the purpose than the type although some varieties are better for specific needs such as espalier. With patio apples the purpose is typically maximum production in minimum space thus the tree is likely a spur type miniature due to a combination of grafting the right cultivar, root stock, etc. I'd expect a larger container will eventually be required. Apples are produced on short twigs known as spurs so don't remove any of them, but don't panic if it happens accidentally when picking apples. These spurs typically form only on horizontal branches. For your young tree forcing the lower branches to be closer to horizontal may be more important than pruning other than any removal due to dead/damaged/crossing branches, poor crotch angles, and/or to get the desired shape. The photos and desire for spread suggest keeping the branches as long as they are equally spaced around the trunk. The dominate leader can be headed back at the height desired for more branches, which will form from buds where there are/were leaves just below the cut to remove the terminal bud that would otherwise suppress branching. These new branches would need to be trained when it can be done without damaging them. For example on trellised apples this is done to newly planted whips that are cut just below the cable then two branches are trained to the cable while a third is allowed to grow up to the next cable where these steps are repeated until the desired height is reached. After the scaffold branches are established the pruning involves removal of any dead/damaged/diseased branches and the vertical growing suckers known as watersprouts since these are just vegetative growth rather than the desired fruit production. Another seemingly hard thing to do is removal of lots of green fruits to prevent the branches from being broken by excessive weight; a good rule of thumb is about one apple per handbreadth, which works out to about one for every other spur or two. As a result the fewer apples are larger and the spurs without apples bloom the next year resulting in a consistent harvest each year (barring a late freeze or other calamity). For an apple tree to bloom or even break dormancy it has to get the required chilling hours so don't bring the pot inside for the winter, but provide outside shelter for if necessary for extreme cold (something that would freeze moisture in the soil and bust the pot due to the expansion of ice).