Hi Tui, when is the right time to prune a very old red delicious apple tree? When is the right time to thin it? Thanks.

Hi Nuki, your tree has a good framework, the top vigorous growth needs reducing and the overcrowded branches criss-crossing inwards need to be removed to open up the tree. Apple trees can be pruned in mid-summer and in winter. Thinning can be done in summer, remove overcrowded branches and open up the tree so that light can enter to ripen the fruit. Vigorous water shoots can be reduced by approximately one third, always prune to an outward facing bud. In winter, remove dead or diseased wood, branches that cross over each other and inward facing branches. Apple trees fruit on two year old wood, and fruiting spurs will produce fruit for up to 3-4 years, sometimes longer, but older fruiting spurs are not as productive as newer spurs. Remove the old fruiting spurs so that new fruiting spurs are produced. Fruit thinning is done early on in the season, at the time of fruit set (November), this will ensure larger fruit and promote better flowering the following season. The Tui Team.