Trim overgrown apple trees

If your apple tree has become overgrown, or you've inherited a neglected tree, now is the perfect time to give it a summer prune.

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By pruning in summer rather than winter, you remove some of the tree's vigour, thereby making it concentrate its energy on producing fruit rather than more leafy growth.

It also keeps the tree at a manageable size.

Trained varieties such as espaliers, cordons or stepovers also need a summer trim to maintain their restricted shape. Cut back any new lateral shoots to three sets of leaves. For tip-bearing varieties, avoid pruning as much as possible. If you do need to reduce the overall size of the tree, do so over several years and try to keep as many shoot tips as possible.

STEP BY STEP Prune apple trees

1 USE a clean, sharp saw to prune thicker stems. This reduces the chance of damaging the bark, your tools or yourself! Sterilise your saw between trees to lessen the risk of spreading disease.