Pollarding an apple tree.

[crosslandkelly]

A friend of mine has asked me to pollard her apple tree, as it has gotten to large for her to manage without the use of a ladder. I'm not sure of the variety, probably a Granny Smith or a Braeburn, green skin and lovely sweet flesh. the trunk is about 8" in diameter and starts to branch out at about 5' with an overall height of about 13' or 14'. she want's me to prune it back almost to the trunk, but I have suggested that I prune it down to a more manageable 7' or 8', which will also reduce the spread. Any thoughts? Is this a good time of the year for this?
TIA.

 

[Mesquite]

Do it once the leaves and fruit are off the tree Colin and before the buds start swelling.

Personally I'd prune it back as you suggest with a yearly prune there after. If you go for the hard pollarding you'll need to remove all the unwanted extra shoots next winter selecting the strongest ones which will give it better shape and prune them back about a third.

Don't forget to save the thicker sections for spoons etc

 

[Broch]

If you have a quick look at the thread I started this time last year about my fallen tree (updated yesterday - title 'storm damage') you'll see an example of a Bramley that was pollarded right to the top of the trunk (all branches removed). It stands at about six foot to the top of the trunk. In one season it has grown plenty of new branches and, I suspect, will fruit well next year. If you only take it down to the 7' or 8' foot it will soon be too tall for her to manage again I suspect.

 

[Toddy]

I think Broch and Mesquite are right; I coppiced mine and I still need to prune it back every year.
I admit that I leave it a little later than this to do it though, but before the buds start to swell at all.

Even the thinnings burn with a lovely flame, and scent

The timber is lovely, it really is. I have a very old spinning wheel, reliably dated to the late 1740's, and the distaff of the wheel is applewood, and it's still beautiful. It's richly coloured, smooth and really just right. Well worth saving any timber that you can I reckon.

M

 

[crosslandkelly]

Thanks for the replies guys.
The apples went last month, about 30 kilos between us, and the leaves are almost all gone. I think I'll try to persuade her just to let me prune it to a manageable height, so we can have some more of these delicious apples next year. (selfish of me )
I'll also keep some of the larger pieces for a bit of carving Steve.

 

[Robson Valley]

I use nothing but apple wood for an hour of smoke in my BBQ set-ups. Meant to flavor pork ribs and chickens.
If you save some wood for carving, paint the ends and keep it sheltered but outdoors.
I'd like to carve apple but everything is always split to Hello and back so into the BBQ it goes.
In my kitchen, I have a Breville smoke pistol, running on apple sawdust,
that I can use in the oven, not really worth the money.

 

[Toddy]

I wonder why your apple splits ? I stashed the branches I took off mine just behind a shed for a few years, and the bigger ones went to the woodturners (I have some beautiful bowls ) and the smaller branches went to the carvers.
Your climate is hard hard cold in Winter though, whereas ours is just damp and chilly.

 

[Nice65]

I wonder why your apple splits ? I stashed the branches I took off mine just behind a shed for a few years, and the bigger ones went to the woodturners (I have some beautiful bowls ) and the smaller branches went to the carvers.
Your climate is hard hard cold in Winter though, whereas ours is just damp and chilly.

The key is in your storage method, it’s nice and slow because it’s outdoors and not rushed. A lot of people cut the wood to the approximate lengths they think are right for the project and Apple is a bugger for drying because it’s very dense. If you want a 12” spoon, you’d need to take that wood from a slow dried length, preferably painted or given a good coating of PVA glue on both ends, and longer on the ends by about 6”.

I know this because in my youth I cut an Oak burr out of a felled tree and ripped blocks out of it for knife handles with a chainsaw before taking them to my Polish friend next door. He was pretty horrified by what I’d done and sure enough the wood twisted, curled and split on drying.

 

[Erbswurst]

All depends on the age of this tree.

If it is 50 years old, it will stay more or less how it is, after cutting it.

But if it's a young tree, it will immediately try to replace the lost wood.
That could become very unpleasant for you.

I recommend to buy a professional book about how to cut an apple tree.

Unfortunately I could only recommend you some in german language, so you should inform yourself in a gardeners forum, which english book they recommend.

Don't cut an apple tree without knowing all about it!

 

[Robson Valley]

Modern orchard apple varieties are usually grown as dwarf or semi-dwarf.
This aids in everything from spraying to annual pruning to thinning and picking.
I'd seek textbooks and/or professional advice for pruning, not opinions.
I got lucky, taught by Agriculture Canada crew in the Summerland, BC research center.
I earned a Master's Degree doing research on grafting anatomy in apple trees.

 

[Broch]

You're right RV, most orchard apple trees available in the UK are grown grafted on dwarf stock but, by the definition given, this one doesn't sound like it is. Quite honestly I have been pollarding, or at the very least severely cutting back, mature fruit trees in the UK (including apples, pears, plums … ) for a very long time and have never had one that has not regrown well. If it is on dwarf stock then don't cut it close to the graft. Make sure all cuts leave no horizontal surfaces to hold moisture and ensure there are no splits or tears in the bark (but you knew all that anyway). I doubt you'll have any problems at all.

On the point of the age of the tree, an 8" diameter tree will be 15 to 20 years old at a guess (depending on its positioning) - you'd have difficulty killing it TBH - if you cut it to the ground it would normally grow as a coppice - I have two that grow up in the lawn every year

German and BC trees may differ

 

[Toddy]

You're right about that, they're tough are apple trees.
I know of one that has been cut down to the ground four times, and it's still keeps coming back up and flowering and fruiting.

 

[crosslandkelly]

You're right RV, most orchard apple trees available in the UK are grown grafted on dwarf stock but, by the definition given, this one doesn't sound like it is. Quite honestly I have been pollarding, or at the very least severely cutting back, mature fruit trees in the UK (including apples, pears, plums … ) for a very long time and have never had one that has not regrown well. If it is on dwarf stock then don't cut it close to the graft. Make sure all cuts leave no horizontal surfaces to hold moisture and ensure there are no splits or tears in the bark (but you knew all that anyway). I doubt you'll have any problems at all.

On the point of the age of the tree, an 8" diameter tree will be 15 to 20 years old at a guess (depending on its positioning) - you'd have difficulty killing it TBH - if you cut it to the ground it would normally grow as a coppice - I have two that grow up in the lawn every year

German and BC trees may differ

The tree is indeed 20 years old. I also found out to cut off any suckers, crossed branches and damaged branches.

 

[Robson Valley]

I should do a ring count on a few pieces of a 4" apple.
It came off a high plains homestead which can't be much more than 70 years old.
Hard and cold and dry that country. Wild turkeys, too. Hollywood pretty as ranch country.

 

[Robson Valley]

Se if this pastes. Fascinating modern account of apple history.

http://popular-archaeology.com/issu...ng-two-way-journey-for-apple-on-the-silk-road

 

[santaman2000]

I don’t have any experience so I can’t give advice how to do it. However I might suggest that your local agricultural college might be a good source for expert advice? If you were here I’d suggest the “County Agent” (Actually a department of each state’s agricultural colleges dispersed to the counties for just this purpose—-advising local farmers, horticulturalist, and hobbyists) I imagine you have some parallel there?

 

[slowworm]

There's plenty of advice available online and in books, most of it will say don't remove too much material at once.

This might be worth a read, not to cover pollarding or a large reduction, but to read up on the likely results and the action required later. https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=279

 

[Paul_B]

Interesting point about grafting old cultivars and finding out what yours is. We've got a local nursery that does apple festival weekends. They have in house and visiting experts I believe. Hunt yours out and find out the cultivar. It might be worth grafting onto a rootstock to propagate if a rare one.

 

[Mesquite]

...I also found out to cut off any suckers, crossed branches and damaged branches.

Yup, definitely only healthy branches left.

When pruning you ultimately want to left with an upside down umbrella shape so the middle gets air and light as well

 

[Robson Valley]

There's a miriad of difference pruning styles for apple trees.
The tree can and will produce 2 different kinds of leaves (internal anatomy).
The "sun" leaf does much more photosynthesis than the "shade" leaf can do. Biochemical fact.
This underscores the pruning styles to expose as much of the tree to sunlight as possible.

Another thing you can do is start asking around about "heritage orchards."
Some growers have a big patch of dozens and dozens of abandoned cultivars. Just a hobby sort of thing.
Nevertheless, they all still have to be pruned so it's another good source of instruction.
I've been in three of them here in BC. Amazing ancient varieties that they barter and trade with others.