Here's How Martha Prunes Her Apple Trees for a 'Multitude of Delicious Fruits'

Martha's green thumb is always at work. During winter, when much of the garden is dormant, she focuses on pruning. In a recent blog post, she shared how she prunes the apple trees around her Bedford, New York property.

Martha says there are a few different pruning strategies gardeners can use depending on the time of the year. "But overall the goals are the same - to control the height and shape, develop good limb structure, encourage growth, remove damaged or diseased branches, and to allow for better air circulation."

To prune her apple trees, Martha's grounds crew cuts away the dead, diseased, damaged, or crisscrossing branches, as well as water sprouts and suckers that may block the light from the center of the trees. The branches are cut at a 45- to 60-degree angle. The crew can reach many branches with hand pruners. "Pruning shears, hand pruners, or secateurs are a type of scissor used on plants," Martha says. For thicker branches, the crew uses a pruning hand saw.

When pruning, Martha says it is best to "encourage branches to grow toward the outside of the tree and eliminate those that grow toward the center or cross other branches." This allows air and light to penetrate the foliage and reach the center of the tree, she says. Pruning the right way encourages the tree to produce more fruit the following growing season.

Every year, Martha and her crew tend to trees that are original to the farm, as well as varieties she planted herself. "I have all different varieties that are great to eat right off the tree, pressed into cider, or baked into pies and tarts," she says.

Most of the apple trees on Martha's farm are espaliered. "Espalier refers to an ancient technique, resulting in trees that grow flat, either against a wall or along a wire-strung framework. They’re supported on wire attached to strong antique granite posts from China originally used as grape supports," she explains. This technique also makes the trees easier to reach for pruning.

While there is still snow on the grounds of Martha's farm, she says: "It won’t be long before these trees are filled with gorgeous flavorful fruits."