Pruning columnar apple trees

Columnar apple trees belong to a relatively young tree species, since they appeared only in 1964. Columnar apple trees are distinguished by the fact that in trees of this species, the lateral branches grow at sharp angles, therefore, they form not a lush crown that is familiar to us, but a cone-shaped shape, resembling a poplar crown in its appearance, or even a column, from which its name came.

The main feature of this type of apple tree is that flowers and fruits appear here not only on the branches, but also on the trunk itself. Thus, it turns out that when growing columnar apple trees, side branches are not at all necessary, since the apple trees will bear fruit perfectly even without them. Pruning columnar apple trees will allow the trees to give more energy to the fruit and much less resources will go to the branches. In addition, the columnar shape of apple trees will allow them to take up much less space, but at the same time yield a harvest that will be no less than the yield obtained from ordinary apple trees.

Pruning columnar apple trees in order to form a crown is not at all a prerequisite, so each gardener decides on his own whether to make the strict columnar shape of his trees or let them grow as it turns out. If, nevertheless, it was decided to form the crown, then the youngest and smallest shoots less than a year old should be removed. When removing them, two or three buds should be left at the base of the tree. This method will allow you to give the correct shape and achieve a good harvest.