Pruning
Apple & pear (free-standing)
You will be using sharp tools and often a ladder. Keep saws and secateurs sharp and clean, cut away from yourself, and use a stable tripod or A-frame ladder on firm ground for higher branches, or ask someone to steady it. Every cut is a wound that can let in disease, so prune in dry weather and cut just above an outward-facing bud.
- Where to get help
- NHS 111, or seek medical advice
An open goblet shape lets light and air in for better fruit.
When
Winter, dormant (Nov to Feb)
How
Open up the centre, remove crossing and crowded branches, shorten the leaders by about a third.
Notes
Trained cordons and espaliers are pruned in summer.