{"id":543,"date":"2026-03-04T21:01:29","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T21:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/currycountymg\/?p=543"},"modified":"2026-03-09T18:17:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T18:17:26","slug":"apple-tree-pruning-workshop-at-riley-creek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/currycountymg\/2026\/03\/04\/apple-tree-pruning-workshop-at-riley-creek\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple Tree Pruning Workshop at Riley Creek"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Sarah Mocas<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday morning, February 7th, MG volunteers and trainees turned out for a hands-on tree pruning workshop at Riley Creek School Garden (Gold Beach, OR). The workshop was led by MG Lori Phelan and local arborist Tim Scullen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I recently began taking care of a few fruit trees, and consider myself a novice apple tree pruner – I\u2019ve yet to clearly understand how to prune to develop fruit! Based on Tim\u2019s instruction, I\u2019ll start with a few of the apple tree pruning basics that he covered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Remove damaged or diseased wood to maintain plant health.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Control tree height so the fruit is within reach.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Open the canopy to improve airflow, light to lower branches, and reduce disease risks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Promote new spur growth – apples grow on spurs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Encourage new limb growth, which may be used to bear fruit in 2 years.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Develop strong limb structure for better fruit production and overall health.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Based on my general pruning experience, I usually start a pruning project by considering the first 3 items listed above. This will remove some of the larger branches, especially if a tree is older and has not been pruned regularly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Removing dead wood and broken branches is a good starting point since dead wood is fairly easy to recognize \u2013 it will be the brittle, dry branches that snap rather than bend. Also, once cut they will not appear green inside. At this time, we can also remove crossing or inward-growing branches to open out the structure of the tree. Most water sprouts can also be removed especially if they will shade the fruit on lower branches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Recognizing diseased wood can require more experience. During the workshop, Tim removed a branch with a canker. After cutting the limb off up from the canker, he continued to remove more of the branch until the internal wood did not show a reddish-brown streak. A deeper dive into apple tree bark diseases can be found using the Pacific Northwest Plant Disease Management Handbook at https:\/\/pnwhandbooks.org\/<\/a>. Last, it\u2019s important to sanitize pruners especially after working on diseased wood. It\u2019s also important to dispose of diseased wood separate from wood that can be composted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Given the confidence to prune the central structure first, results in less time pruning, but the decisions on removing larger branches takes practice. The overall goals of having the fruit within easy reach, and increasing the amount of sunlight that reaches the lower branches, will make pruning decisions easier. Tim\u2019s choice to favor a medium, lateral branch over a stronger or weaker branch took some getting used to, but he was considering long term structure. He explained that by cutting limbs at the top of the tree, even a leader, to a lateral branch, would reduce the height of a tree and strengthen the lateral branch. These choices develop strong limb structure over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Items 4 (promote new spur growth), and 5 (encourage new limb growth for fruit in two years) both promote apple production, and are trickier for me to see. The spurs, pictured, contain the blossoms, and so eventually apples. Spurs develop on wood 2 years old or older. Some tips are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n