How to Prune an Overgrown Fruit Tree | Neglected Apple Tree Pruning

When we moved into our property, it came with quite a few overgrown fruit trees. These apple trees in particular have been a labor of love - trying to save them from years of neglect.
In this video, we talk about how & when to prune overgrown fruit trees. There's a general shape to consider and a few principles to abide by, but everyone's pruning plan will be unique to the trees on their property.
We also try to explain why certain cuts are being made and talk more about the benefits of maintaining a well-pruned tree.
If you have any questions about pruning on your own property, drop them in the comments below!
𝙎𝙚𝙚 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙂𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙖𝙧𝙢 - 𝙍𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙉𝙤𝙬!
/ 17911288109242787
--------------------------------------------
👉 𝗦𝗢𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗔 👈
--------------------------------------------
Follow us for more gardening tips...
𝐖𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 - www.lonelypinesfarm.com
𝐓𝐢𝐤𝐓𝐨𝐤 - / lonelypinefarm
𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 - / lonelypinesfarm
𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 - / lonelypinesfarm
𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 - / lonelypinesfarm
𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 - / lonelypinesfarm
𝐄𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 - [e-mail]
-------------------------------------------------------------------
💜 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗢 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧 𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗟 💜
-------------------------------------------------------------------
𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲
www.lonelypinesfarm.com
* You'll find more great information related to the video above & the ad revenue helps support our farm
𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐨𝐧
/ lonelypinesfarm
*You'll get exciting bonuses like exclusive Happy Hours to answer all your questions, bonus homestead classes, & even gifts from the farm!
𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬
www.amazon.com/shop/lonelypin...
* Our curated shop filled with tried & true products we recommend - from our home to yours
𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤
amzn.to/39XH4xk
* It's free to you and we'll receive a small commission
𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭
www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls...
* A few items that would make our homestead run smoother
𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐏𝐚𝐥 - paypal.me/lonelypinesfarm
𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐦𝐨 - www.venmo.com/lonelypinesfarm
* We love ya'll so much & don't expect anything, but donations are always welcome - thank you!
------------------------------------------------------------
Hi, we’re Laura & Jerry! Our small farm - nestled in the foothills of the Olympic Mountains - is just outside of Quilcene, Washington. Come along for an incredible year as we focus on our two passions - fresh flowers & gourmet garlic.
But that’s not everything! We’re first and foremost educators - sharing what we’ve learned in the garden and the kitchen. It’s all about growing lovely things, eating great food, and enjoying life! Very much hobbit vibes.
On our channel, you’ll find tons of great videos covering a wide range of topics - from growing your own food & preserving your harvest to making your own sourdough.
Learn more about us...
www.lonelypinesfarm.com/about-us

[@williammorris7895]

As an arborist, your humour around the saw tickled me 😂. Spot on with your branch collar cut too! A lot of people leave stubs, or worse, cut flush to the stem. Nice one guys, a job well done!

[@oakdeneemporium6014]

You sound like Tom Hanks! Hi from Australia! 🇦🇺

[@patrickrussell1888]

Good discussion of the pruning principles, especially water sprouts.

[@TylerKegolis]

As a tree trimmer, you really caught my attention with the "sawzall and a ladder" part.

[@spgilmorespgilmore]

Great video! Some good information and examples. Thanks for posting it!

[@Meldelkel]

Thank you for doing this video - I have your trees twin in my garden and will go for 25% crown reduction plus deadwood. Great advice

[@kamisan3215]

Your video just made pruning click in my mind, thank you!

[@EttaJensen-ru4hb]

Thank You!! You helped me put everything together and my trees look great!!

[@katehirst6046]

Great video, l learnt so much and it all makes sense.

[@mahmoudajjan466]

1st thanks a lot, 2nd i work with plants not trees however "all trees were plants one day OF COURSE" but i found that these were a very good methods to learn (I mean the 25 to 35 discarding of the tree materials ' unwanted and unnecessary materials ETC... ', again thank you so much, wish you the best

[@ktz-fk9qj]

Thank u this was helpful! God bless

[@Desertphile]

Thank you. Your trees look much like the trees we have here at the ranch, as we have no idea how to care for them. The Fuji apples are excellent, and the Old People's Faces apples are also excellent.

[@step69step69]

great job

[@janetmcnutt4994]

I use a saw like yours. I only have one large tree when we moved in. Planted a baby apple tree to replace the old one someday.

[@benmurie4815]

This is great. I have a cherry tree in similar condition. Hopefully the same principle apply to cherries as well. I do though have a hard time eye-balling 25%, but this is good

[@JohnSmith-gy4qj]

I have exactly the same problem. So thx a million. Have you any pic after the 25% prune and how much fruit did you after the prune? Very encouraging

[@emporergrimes]

It's funny that your voice sounds just like Tom hanks. hahaha

[@alexanderchilds5612]

This was wonderful, thank you for this. I work at a ministry in Grand Rapids Michigan and our community garden has 3 overgrown apple trees that I want to take care of so our neighbors can start to have a healthy access to apples. Appreciate this wisdom!

[@EhEhEhEINSTEIN]

Yup, I definitely should've done more of this last year.. My next prune will be that much more fun lol. You'd laugh at my kraken/viking tree. It's eroding out of a pretty steep embankment and into the ocean. The original top curled up and died a long time, I trimmed it flat so I could stand on it to harvest. Looks like the dragon on front of a stereotypical viking longboat. The roots have now largely been exposed running back up the embankment and holding on like tentacles with the trunk being the kraken head. Apples are a little mealy textured and need extensive cleaning from the sea spray but the flavor is awesome and they make good sauce :)

[@tinaknutsen]

I got a great visual from reading your comment….gave me a chuckle 😊

[@stettenfarms]

Maybe you could write a storybook about that tree!

[@erikbrantner4295]

Thank you for this tip! Pruning trees! Good rule of thumb 👍 No more than 25% annually! And please DON'T head back ANY tree back to a bunch of stumps everywhere! You should have seen the last video of a guy on utube! Butchered everything on an apple tree! OMG!

[@terrim.602]

Great video! Bought a new farm and it has an old HUGE apple tree that puts on beautiful leaves an thousands of small apples. We didn't have hope for it so we cut out the inner dead and a few large lower branches so our grands can use it as a tree fort. Now I'm wondering if we can save it eventually. We would have to get a chainsaw and cut the center out. My question is will it live if we cut more than 25% knowing we'll have a ton of new branches jutting out to take care of next year? This tree is 3-4x the size of your tree. It needs something drastic to make it even resemble an apple tree.

[@tinaknutsen]

I hope you didn’t go drastic, 30% is safe. Spread it over 3 years. I have a lot of fruit and nut trees and it’s the same process. Half of the cherry, apple and pear trees where planted in 68. The Brazzillion nut and walnut was planted in 76. From personal experience over pruning looks good when you first do it but by the following season you will have more issues. Be patient and one thing I think should have been mentioned is to take a step back after you make cuts to look at the tree. Also once you remove a main branch you can’t glue it back on. I think these tree are beautiful when maintained. The fellow in the video did a great demonstration for a overgrown tree…it’s easy to get carried away when pruning a massive tree.

[@alexandrawhitelock6195]

Inherited some pear trees. Left unattended for 4-5 yrs. Waaay too tall. Some branches broke due to heavy fruit load last fall, can I use a Stihl chain power pole to cut some of the TALL branches? Cann9t tackle them on a ladder safely…

[@jtomwalker6233]

If you do prune too much, could you possibly remedy it by removing flower buds or young fruit that year to direct that energy back into growth?

[@cynthiaedwards5149]

Thank for this I have an older peach tree and I think it's pear? It may be apple I don't remember. Being we are both 8a is it too late to prune when the tree is already sprouting leaves?

[@LonelyPinesFarm]

Yes, I think you should wait now. Of course, damage sometimes happens and we have to remove a branch and no harm comes to the tree it seems. But I would not do a full on trim after it has started to leaf out. I feel that may result in excessive leaf growth and possibly set back flowering/fruiting.

[@meeble4191]

We had an old overgrown apple tree damaged in a recent storm. One of the main lower trunks partially snapped. Is there any saving that, or should we just prune off that trunk?

[@LonelyPinesFarm]

I'd cut the whole thing off. Sadly, there's no saving it & removing it will help the tree heal much more quickly

[@cathykelly6002]

I'm just going to buy dwarf trees, as I wont be climbing trees to trim them!! how is the Rhubarb growing?

[@LonelyPinesFarm]

The thing is a BEAST Cathy! It's the size of a small mountain and quite possible the most beautiful plant currently in the garden! Thank you so much for it, we appreciate you!

[@catherinerosa-baker2937]

Dwarf trees can uproot. I will get a standard tree cut back

[@jremedy7053]

Go hawks!

[@doesntmatter9571]

Go hawks!!

[@kikisoaps6544]

I have that problem with 2 fruit trees in the backyard

[@alexandrawhitelock6195]

Same…2 pear trees

[@cathykelly6002]

Year 2? more video, got fruit trees at costco. they were on sale!!

[@LonelyPinesFarm]

Oh yay! What kind of fruit trees did you pick up?

[@cathykelly6002]

@@LonelyPinesFarm some apple and pears

[@ErmelindaFlores-uh5vp]

Dammit!

[@crapisnice]

you havent seen an "overgrown" or branchs-on-floor apple tree yet. and if you did you wouldd know what the real meaning of pruning is

[@dustbustr91]

i never understand when they say too tall to harvest from …. shake the tree and all the shit falls down!

[@LloydDownUnder1988]

That's how you bruise your apples ;)

[@trumpetflowerII]

Lonely Pines. People who seek knowledge never ask if what you demonstrate is beneficial. When I saw what you were doing, I knew you knew a little, but not much. As an arborist, I got over wanting to kill righteous, do-gooders who want to help others, even if what they do is harmful. Just so that you don't feel picked on, I also disrespect so-called arborists who are badly trained and don't think about the harm they do; you know, it's just business. Pertinently, trimming a tree is performed from the terminals in and not inside, cutting to the exterior of the tree. IF you want to improve, I suggest you buy the book Arboriculture by Prof. Richard Harris. First, find the chapter on wounds and then you might see how much irreparable damage you did to that apple tree. Follow the science and improve.