• Pruning apple trees is essential for successful fruit production.Apple on the tree image by Nikolay Lapitsky from Fotolia.com
  
  Though pruning may seem cosmetic in nature, it is the essential process for apple trees in the home garden. Abundant, healthy fruit as well as the ability to resist diseases and pests relies on well-pruned trees. Familiarize yourself with the apple tree pruning basics for a pleasing and productive addition to your landscape.
  
  

When to Prune

• A significant aspect of apple tree pruning basics is when to prune. The suggested time for most pruning is in winter, late in the dormant season. Leafless trees provide a better visual for cuts and new spring growth helps heal and rid the tree of any wounds caused by pruning, according to the University of Minnesota Extension. For apple trees, prune from February through the beginning of April for best results. Though infected or dead shoots may be removed any time of the year, pruning during other seasons raises your tree's vulnerability to pest infestations and diseases that search for entrances through wounds.
  
  

Tools

• Understand your tools for optimal cutting. From the smallest to largest cuts, tools include pruning shears that create cuts with diameters measuring up to 3/4 inch. Lopping shears have longer handles for ease of use and make cuts up to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. For branches that measure approximately 1 to 4 inches in diameter, hand saws are the appropriate choice to make your pruning less of a challenge, according to the University of Minnesota Extension.
  
  

Branches

• Recommended cuts for apple trees include those necessary alterations to keep your tree healthy. Proper cuts promote growth, fruit develop and allow you to avoid injuring your tree. Remove suckers which are branches that form from the roots or trunk of your tree. Prune branches that grow toward the ground in opposition to the natural upward growth of limbs. If branches are crowded within the interior of your tree or if they are crossing and overlapping, prune them to open up circulation and promote sun exposure. Also seek out whorls, or branches that circle around other branches, for removal, according to the Clemson University Extension. Aim for an end result of a pyramidal shape to your tree.
  
  

Cuts

• Avoid tree injury. For smaller branches, make your cut 1/4 inch past a bud that is facing out away from the tree instead of one facing the interior of the tree as this assists the new growth in determining direction, according to the University of Minnesota Extension. For large branches, more than one cut is imperative. Make a cut beneath the branch approximately one foot from the base of the branch where it meets the rest of the tree; cut half way through the branch. For the next cut, move an inch past the initial cut toward the tip of the branch and cut from top to bottom until the branch falls. Now, cut the remaining part of the branch at its base just past the branch collar which is where the branch tapers from its expansion from the trunk. Making your cut behind this protrusion of tree tissue will cause injury, according to the University of Minnesota Extension.