Homeowner's Guide to Training and Pruning Apple Trees

Book excerpt: In contrast to modern commercial orchards consisting of closely planted trees attached to a trellis, backyard growers will find it easiest to train dwarf apple trees to a central leader with several tiers of lateral (or scaffold) branches. Homeowner's Guide to Training & Pruning Apple Trees will teach you, step-by-step, how to train your young tree, from planting to maturity, to develop and maintain the ideal "Christmas tree" shape. Along the way, we'll reveal our "insider's secrets" to help you understand the 'whys' of tree growth and how each type of pruning cut affects your tree. Finally, once your tree reaches the desired height, we'll share with you a simple method to keep your tree within bounds. Written in clear, easy-to-follow language, and illustrated with many line drawings, Training & Pruning Apple Trees, in addition to apples, also includes basic instructions for shaping other types of fruit trees, including peach, pear, apricot, cherries, plums, and persimmons.