Notes on pruning apple and pear trees

• The correct pruning of apple and pear trees is an essential part of fruit tree winter care to produce successful fruiting in the autumn  Click here for details on the GardenAdvice winter fruit tree pruning service

• Purpose of Pruning: Pruning is essential to produce a network of fruiting buds or spurs, which are responsible for flower and fruit production. Avoid over pruning, as it can stimulate excessive green growth at the expense of fruiting. To restore a tree is best pruning over 2 to 3 years.

• Pruning Strategy: Remove older shoots and young water shoots from last summer to create a balanced tree structure that supports fruiting spurs. A second prune during the summer months may be needed to control summer growth.

• Winter Washing: Your trees have been treated with Vitax winter wash to eliminate pest eggs which lay in the cracks in the bark in the late autumn. This helps improve the quality of your fruit in the autumn by reducing pest infestations in the spring.

• Companion Plants: Consider sowing companion plants like calendula around the base of your trees to support beneficial insects and deter aphids.

• Pheromone Traps: In late March, you’ll receive pheromone traps for codling moths. These traps effectively reduce pest problems by attracting and trapping male codling moths.
• It’s worth watering the Pheromone Traps and grease bands to indicate problems with larger than normal amount of certain pests 

• Grease bands: simply traps harmful insects climbing up the main stems of your fruit tree 

• Watering: During dry periods in the spring as the fruit sets after flowering , water your trees. For an average-sized tree, six watering cans of water can make a significant difference in fruit retention. In a dry period as the fruit sets the tree will drop lots of fruit if it considers there is not enough available water in the soil to support all the young fruits. 

Fertilising: From the end of March to the end of July, feed your trees every three weeks with liquid tomato food which is a high-potash fertiliser to improve fruit quality. Be cautious not to overfeed and do not use high nitrate fertilisers such as Miracle-gro