Renovation Pruning an Old Apple Tree
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- Опубликовано: 7 июн 2022
- Michigan State University Extension educator Jim Isleib explains and demonstrates first-year renovation pruning on an old, overgrown volunteer apple tree on the MSU Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center in Chatham, MI.
You’re a legend Jim.
Your editor did a great job keeping info in while making the video as short as possible!
I have a 30+ year old tree that has never been pruned much.
Last year, one of my my sons cut some out.
With your video, I think I will be brave enough to do some serious pruning on it!
Thank you!
Really enjoyed this, I have a large old tree coming to do for my Nephew, you helped me have some thought I did not have, thank you
Thank you for showing us how to prune a very overgrown apple tree. I thought my apple tree was overgrown but yours was pretty darn overgrown so I’m gonna get to work on mine soon. It’s February now in Northwest New Jersey thank you.
very informative, thanks for sharing!
Wouldn't it be interesting to revisit this tree a few more times? Would love to see what kind of apple it is!
Thank you for great pruning presentation, tools you have used and all wise advices . I am going to do similar pruning old apple trees in my garden in February/ March when weather will be sunny , not wet.
Thank you for this excellent video! My friend has many fruit trees that have not been pruned in many years. Thanks to you, I will get started pruning with confidence.
Excellent tutorial, much needed
Love the insight into how an experienced grower deal with a tree that needs to be helped to a new mode. I am now on to next video what happens the next year. I learn a lot.
Wow. That was fantastic to see how aggressive you were with your pruning. Makes me much more confident about the choices I have been making with my trees. Thank you. ✨🙏✨
He took off much more than 30% he'll be fighting water sprouts for the next few years !
Yeh, I imagine so. I hope he posts what it looks like the following year. With even what I would consider a very aggressive pruning I take less than half of what he did.@@kahvac
I have a lot of apple trees ...years ago I pruned off about 60% I had water sprouts everywhere nothing but a problem with vertical growth. Took me a few years for it to settle down.@@ionmeta6100
My only concern is sun-scald on top of the large, newly exposed limbs.. Other than that, I’ve done the same. You can climb into that tree around mid July and snap off watershoots by hand; they’ll heal instantly. By leaving the best positioned shoots, next seasons pruning will nearly be taken care of 🙂
A joy to watch! A ‘fine’ fruit tree pruner myself, having pruned around 20 trees just yesterday ..I had to check what RUclips’s recently posted … and it took me till yours to feel satisfied 🙂 Loved the commentary, and a job well done.
Great video, thank you! I just bought a property with 7 fruit trees. I'm a completely bigginer to fruit trees and this was immensely helpful.
Wow! You really cut a lot off of that tree. I'm in the third year of pruning an overgrown tree. I was told not to take more than a third of the tree off so I'm taking my time while having a fair harvest each year. I'll be just getting to the small branches this year and my next problem is I need to start spraying for worms.
Depends on species, climate, etc etc but I think the prune 1/3 is just echo chamber hearsay. Ive removed up to 90% of many trees to great success. There are innumerable ways to shape tree forms that serve a near innumerable amount of uses. I removed 90% of a dozen over grown apple trees when I moved into my PNW property a few years ago. I’ve had apples every year. I’m learning about syntropic agroforestry in the temperate world right now. The idea is having many plants together tightly & you manage them to occupy different light levels. Quite literally a plant o. The ground, something at 6’, something at 20’, etc. primarily you grow a biomass/nitrogen species to 15-20’ & cut the top off. Create a very high pollard that you cut fully back each year. In the understory, you grow small trees/shrubs/farmland/grazing/etc.
@@UpTheIrons51510 90% wow. Probably just a rule of thumb. This apple tree is old, the house was built in 1954 and my parents bought it in 1971 and the tree was full grown and producing at that time. My father passed away in 2011 and it had been neglected a few years already. It has the tastiest apples I wish I knew what kind it is. They are a large size that starts out green and gets red stripes with a sweet and tart taste both. Eats beautiful raw and cooks great. I'm in SW Washington State with little pruning experience. Lol.
This reminds me of the father Ted episode where he tries to remove the dent out of his car...
@@300dymanite And ends up with no straight body panels.
@@POLITICALHYBRID If the tree blooms earlier than neighboring apples, and it’s apples ripen sooner too, it’s possibly a Gravenstein. I grew up with them 🙂
I really liked this pruning video. Well done.
I have a few of these on the forclosure property I bought last summer. Thanks for the video!
This is a great video, very informative and well presented. Thank you!
Excellent information! Exactly why I clicked on this video! Thank you! Spot on and to the point. I have pruned my old trees for years, but stopped 5 years ago. My main concern was over pruning. Looks like that is not an issue [within reason].
We just bought a lot with an old apple that looks much like that. Now I have an idea what to do. Thank you.
He didn't show this part but he does mention it, when the tree starts to leaf out in a month or so, it's going to try and regrow many branches that got cut off at once, you can go in at that point and just rub those new growths out with your gloved hand. That will save you from having to cut off the regrown watersprouts with tools out the next year.
Thank you. God Bless, stay safe and warm.
Thank you for a very nice field trip to the apple tree. There have been many changes in the fruit growing methods in the past hundred years. When you drive past a commercial apple orchard, most of the trees are not “shade tree pretty”. They are fruit trees, developed and later pruned to be healthy and productive.
It is the flush of water sprouts that come from this type of corrective pruning, that causes some people to lose interest, or think that they can’t do it. As you stated, this is only the beginning of the reclamation process.
Excellent, enjoyed watching that
Would love to see the tree now, one year later.
It is clear, that hundreds of upright branches will come this year because of the radical way he was pruning these trees. I made many trees and one rule is to cut a maximum of one third, but here he did much more than that. Next year he will have the next problem to handle all the new branches. Our rule to handle such old trees is to do it within three years and not in one. Greetings from Germany
That's true he'll have nothing but water sprouts and will be fighting the vertical growth for years !@@antares3796
@@antares3796 Danke sehr :)
Great job! Very detailed. Thank you. I have a huge tree to do on my allotment. Lol wish me luck!
Very nice work!
That’s a beautiful pruning job. The tree looks great.
Wish to know how your efforts turned out after a couple seasons. Always so hard to tell the impact we have when the management has been left so long, as this volunteer had been sitting.
ruclips.net/video/2nOOkh4oLoo/видео.html
Very informative, thank u
DeWalt makes a really nice 8-inch electric chainsaw. I used it on our trees for the first time this year and it was AWESOME for speeding up the big cuts !!!!
I prune fruit trees, and occasionally use a chainsaw, but unlike cutting firewood at arms length … inside a tight tree, often working at ‘neck height,’ for a beginner.. I’d highly advise against it.
Will you please shoot another short video of this tree? I'm dying to see the after math
It is clear, that hundreds of upright branches will come in the next year because of the radical way he was pruning these trees. I made many trees and one rule is to cut a maximum of one third, but here he did much more than that. Next year he will have the next problem to handle all the new branches. Our rule to handle such old trees is to do it within three years and not in one. Greetings from Germany
same
@@antares3796 Americans don’t waste time, only resources 😀 If the tree’s cared for, someone will hop inside around mid July and snap off the unnecessary watershoots.. It’s kinda fun!
Great job, best video i seen on yt
I totally love that I’m getting mine pruned soon. It’s just too hard to pick fruit. We got 200 pounds of Asian pears last year but it was very difficult. It’s it’s overgrown. It looked like that so I need a lot of work done. I need it to where I can easily harvest the pairs, but I my question is do you have a video of this year after like what it looks like now please make one or put a link in these comments
Thanks for the great instructions and video. We have three very overgrown trees in Ontario, Canada (Toronto area) a delicious, early yellow summer and not sure about the third, possibly a macintosh. The apples usually end up in the compost pile. We love the trees for shade and privacy, plus they attract the baltimore orioles and the cardinals love them for shelter and the long tall branches to perch on. Going to give your techniques a try next early spring (Feb 2024) and see what happens. Can't find your email as mentioned but would love the pattern for your apple picking ladder. Tx.
He really brought this tree down, more so for human harvesting. If wildlife is your major concern, you might leave some higher, yet ‘lateral’ branches..
great job
Fabulous! Excellent! Terrific demo. Well conveyed! Excellent, knowledgeable expert! AI can't do it as well. Craft is art. Learn from the best artist. 23:23
Nice work. I always scalp them and watch them come back
I was pretty skeptical when you snowed up with a bucket of bow saws because as an arborist, I consider them to be completely obsolete and useless however, skipping to the end to see the results of your work I'd say you did a really fine job of pruning that old apple tree.
I prune fruit trees all day long from about March to October, I never seen the need to prune that hard. If you want a calmer regrowth on the older trees, prune hard in the summer to early fall.
Physically removing that much material in summer would likely defoliate whatever’s left.. It’s true that you’d be robbing the roots, thus less growth the following season ..and perhaps a decaying root system.
After u prune the apple tree did it produces big beautiful apples
So much for “don’t remove more than 1/3 to 40% of the tree” that you said at 0:50 of the video.
Yes ...He butchered that tree he will barely get a half bushel of apples and it will grow back superfast unruly growth no more apples for 3 years.😮😢
That old tree was headed for death, now it’s got much to live for. The tree was not butchered, that was an excellent job! It wasn’t a commercial tree, so production is of little concern. But give it a couple years - wow, little to no thinning, excellent sun infiltration and air circulation.. I’ve lived, and taught this stuff, and though it nearly wore me out ..twas a joy to watch 🙂
I’d love to see the tree and 1 years after.
Hallo from Denmark
Thats a very god vork 🌳👍🏼👍🏼
I agree shud not remove more than twenty present on this tree
👍👍👍❤️❤️❤️
The Google Earth Map still shows the unpruned tree. How is doing now?
Thanks for posting.
Just did 2 days of pruning Ida Red apple trees at an Apple Orchard on Lake Ontario.
Fire Blight on some of the trees. I see why they call it that. Looks like it was burned and its black.
Love volunteering there.
At the start of the video he says " 40 % of the tree needs pruning but he cuts out 90% 😳😳
He made too much disproportion between leaves and roots system at once.
He go a happy little groove going😅.! To bad for the tree and that years apple crop . 1 tenth of the growth was left.😮
That tree will be just fine as long as he keeps up with removing the water sprouts or pulling them down and making them new fruiting wood. Orchards do this kind of pruning all the time and it’s not as damaging as you might think. The 30% rule is simply a guideline and makes it a comfortable amount for someone especially if you’re pruning someone else’s tree and you don’t want them mad at you for “destroying” their tree.
Is there a spring image of this apple tree in the USA.?
I would have just topped it. Strange people think this is extreme. I had 10 50 year old apple trees I cut them down to 3 foot stumps and topworked choice scions into them last year. They are doing amazing
that hurts
My apple tree is about 7yrs old, 25'tall,beautifully shaped but, i cant even reach the lowest branches.
Is there any way i can force it to grow lower branches that i can reach? Or is it too late
How do I get a hold of you guys? I'm MSU alum and would run my own fruit tree pruning business. I've spent thousands of hours working for the biggest orchard in SE Michigan and would very much like to get in touch.
Wheee can I get the plans for that great ladder?
Thank you
Get yourself a lightweight aluminum ‘Tallman’ ladder.. Mine’s lived outside for 35 years, they’ll last forever. Many sizes, 8 ft’s my favorite 🙂
#1 rule taught to me by a skilled arborist: Trim the tree, not the branch.
Many plants like a good prune. if this was not the case we would not have to mow our lawns as much
What kind of logic is that!? That makes no sense. The grass doesn't want or need us to mow it.
Very informative, I hope you take out the background music in future videos, very distracting
Not to question your expertise, I'm just a bit confused. Had seen somewhere that we shouldn't cut more than 1/3 of a tree off in a single year. What are your thoughts? This looks like more than 1/3.
how did this tree manage to grow in a MSU field without someone either removing or tending to it?
I imagine there must be random trees coming up all the time that they remove?
you kill it! Never cut more than 30 percent each year. You need 3 years to corect that tree, u did it at once...
Last night Nov 10th 2023 whilst watch I got for short time on UKs Channel 4 as I have done for a few months,for the first time in a few months exclusively all electric cars were not advertised. The tide is changing! 👏👏👏
What about the rule to not prune back more than 40% in one year? And...with all due respect...I am a bit confused. That tree looked like it grew vigorously and so why prune it so far back just to get it to grow vigorously again? How much fruit did it produce before being extremely pruned? If it's healthy and old, why not let it be? Or, just prune a little out of the center?
It wasn’t healthy, it was severely neglected.. You don’t see many ‘standing orchards’ anymore, most are trellis-trained for mechanical harvesting. This tree was a disease repository, especially on the East Coast (humidity). The tree (possibly 2 trees, as mentioned) will soon produce larger, cleaner, and if cared for, more usable fruit that it’s recently known..
I'm with you! That was way too hard a prune. Puts the tree into shock...then massive re-growth....which requires a lot more pruning hours.
You have wrecked this tree
looks like more than 40 percent. no?
What happened to taking 40% at the most, you’ve gone way further, 😢
Why are you hanging around in that tree? 😮
We were taught to not “whip the tree into shape” considering it’s probably weak, diseased and old. Only remove 15-25% the first year, and subsequent years because the tree can go into shock and die. There’s nothing wrong with making large cuts as the tree will seal the wound very quickly. But yeah, you took off easily 75%, which might work for this tree but is not the norm for such old trees.
50% removel, I trust that tree does not go into juvenile state. If she flowers & bears fruit, you should be ok.
You pruned to much off
OMG! The work done is in the area of removing the tree and starting again, but from the first day, train the tree. What you have done is enough to shorten the tree's life, and, If that's what was intended, you did a good job.
People who seek knowledge never ask if what you demonstrate is beneficial. When I saw what you were doing, I knew you knew a little, but not much.
Just so that you don't feel picked on, I also disrespect so-called arborists who are badly trained and don't think about the harm they do; you know, it's just business.
IF you want to improve, I suggest you buy the book Arboriculture by Prof. Richard Harris. First, find the chapter on wounds and then you might see how much irreparable damage you did to that apple tree. Follow the science and improve.
I have had people tell me they cut 75-90% out of an old overgrown tree with great results. I did mine in 3 years doing the 1/3 a year method though.
Twixt him & I ..we’d no doubt have a century of pruning experience. Books? Yah, lots of them. Experience, a totally different thing.. At age 28 I inherited the family homestead, with five generations of orchardists and lots of full-sized 80+ year old apple & pear trees. I went to town! Later, I taught advanced grafting & fruit tree pruning for our State Extension Service. This guy salvaged a tree most would have dozed to the burn pile. ..show some respect
@trumpetflowerll Despite what some have said, you are showing respect, to the Trees!! Those who view it only as a business, have cavalier attitudes towards life. I will look into the book you suggest as I have some major restoration work to do and prefer to give the Trees respect and time to adjust & heal.
Stop man you kill the tree
5 minutes showing off your saws, are you kidding man?
Agreed, horrible pruning job.
Absolut horrible pruning, its ruining the tree. The large wounds will never complete heal and removing that much wood at ones will kick the tree out of balance.
I have to disagree with you. The tree was very overgrown. You wouldn't do such a severe cutting very often, I feel he did a really good job. He can come back next year and shape it more. I cut back a really big fig tree in two years time so as not to shock the tree too much. I wanted it smaller so I can cover it to prevent the birds from getting all the figs before I could.
@@juneramirez8580 You should never do such a servere cutting, its better to do this in 2-3 steps an years, so the tree is not falling in imbalance and reacting with many water sprouts. The amount of wounds to heal after each pruning would also be less and better to handle for the tree.
Definitely not going to “ruin the tree”
Nice to hear people comment on trees when they have never done that pruning done it in my orchard of over 60 trees so let us experts do it our way
I disagree. I would’ve done the exact same thing he did with that tree. I have over 160 trees and my one regret was not being more aggressive with them as far as pruning when they were younger. This tree should’ve been aggressively pruned its entire life and then these big cuts wouldn’t have had to be made. Not all trees are the same and each one will require a different approach.
TOO MUCH, TOO MUCH!!