January gardening diary: Prune apple trees

apple tree

(Image credit: unknown)

published 27 January 2014

The pruning of free-standing apple trees is fairly straightforward and a pleasant task at this time of year, when you can see the whole thing clearly. You will need secateurs and perhaps loppers. First, remove any damaged or diseased shoots, looking for the swellings of canker and cutting beyond them. Next, remove wandering shoots that cross and rub others. Then, prune the current year's growth back to three or four buds, always to an out-ward-facing bud. From time to time, stand back to check the result.

* Follow Country Life on Twitter

* Subscribe and save in our January sale

Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by His Majesty The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.