Apples and pears: summer pruning

Summer pruning is mainly for apples and pears trained as restricted forms: cordon, espalier, fan, pyramid, spindlebush. Trees grown as standards or bushes are managed with winter pruning.

Summer prune when the bottom third of the new shoots is stiff and woody. Generally, this will be from mid-July for pears and the third week in August for apples and about ten days later in the north. To reduce the possibility of secondary growth it can be left until late August.

Judge the exact timing according to the vigour of the plant, the weather and locality.

Summer pruning involves cutting back new shoots to allow light to reach the fruit.

New shoots are stiff and woody along their bottom third, with dark green leaves and a cluster of leaves at the base.

1. Cut back new shoots (laterals) more than 20cm (8in) long growing from the main stem to three leaves above the basal cluster of leaves. Do not prune new shoots that are less than 20cm (8in) long as they usually terminate in fruit buds
2. Cut back new shoots growing from existing sideshoots (sub-laterals) to one leaf above the basal cluster
3. Remove any upright, vigorous growth completely
4. If secondary growth occurs after summer pruning, remove this in September. If this is a persistent problem, leave some longer shoots unpruned as these will draw up the sap and grow at the expense of secondary growth elsewhere. Cut these back to one bud in spring, as well as any vigorous growth projecting above the level of the supporting wire

Although pruning shouldn't cause any particular problems for the plant, you may see some other common issues:

• Protecting fruit from frost
• Biennial bearing
• Apple canker
• Apple scab

Apples: choosing cultivars
Apples: identifying fruit buds
Apples: stepover (horizontal cordon) training
Apples and pears: growing and training as cordons
Apples and pears: pruning new trees
Apples and pears: renovating trees
Apples and pears: winter pruning