Pruning apple trees to a central leader system

John Strong demonstrates how to prune apple trees at planting, and after the first and second growing seasons. It also covers pruning a young tree into bearing, pruning a six-year old tree, and controlling the height of an older bearing central leader tree.
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[@demingliu1917]

Great rare video - highly informative, concise, hands-on demonstration, no bragging or marketing whatsoever, just focusing on imparting your great expertise to others. It is rare and indeed commendably rare - unlike other showy videos with ulterior aims, there is no bloody advertisement interruption. I have been coming back to watch it again and again, and each time I learn and take away new things. I actually never quite noticed the so-called distracting loud music which is just there to break the ice between sections; once I noticed the music, I like it - it is quite appropriate, and serves as none other than a moment to reflect on what was taught together with an expectation for what is yet to come next.

[@walterkneis4147]

Agree with the comments about the music being too loud and distracting. Other than that, it's a great guide for pruning young trees from initial planting through subsequent early years.

[@mitchking8088]

This is a real good pruning lesson and I have 120 apple trees as a hobby

[@stnr222]

Why do people think they need annoying music playing when they're talking?? How are you supposed to hear and focus on what they are saying?? Please stop this insanity. Other than the music, this is exactly the information I was looking for. Excellent instruction on pruning and training young apple trees. Thank you!

[@adammichelini1]

Who cares about the loud music. It’s one of the best tutorials I’ve ever seen on pruning apple trees.

[@creatureconnor]

Yeah, initially it was really annoying, I almost clicked off, but then I realized how educational this kid was! 😅

[@JoshuaDerwent]

Most informative pruning video that I've found to date. I agree that the music is very distracting, but still worth watching to the end. Also, I believe the instructor is Dr. John Strang (UK ext. horticulturalist ret.).

[@travisevans7502]

very informative and gives you young and fully developed tree pruning techniques most give you one or the other. could do without the music.

[@BillyBob-so9xr]

I second this statement

[@kimberlycurtsinger72]

This Rocks. The very best of any and I've watched years worth of these kinds. Just luv luv your work and his you show it. Keep up these great Videos ☺️

[@ugtitto2654]

This comment is purely my time stamps to get back to when needed. Great video. Thank you so much for sharing. Please never delete it. 2:45 why prune existing growth when planting bare root; 3:25 heading back cut explained 4:35 two-year-old tree heading back cut 9:05 lateral pruning distance explained (Does it apply to cherry trees ?) 9:33 bud- breaking knotch 10:25 rubbing a bud off to form wide angle branches

[@felixfelix6499]

I agree! Thank you for this great video. I want to bookmark it and come back each year. I hope you do one on Open Vase pruning too, since that is what I was taught to do when I started years ago. Also summer pruning.

[@radutamas2014]

For md,pruning trees- only with music in my garden! Classic rock non stop!

[@beebob1279]

Excellent demonstration. Thank you.

[@StarySweterWelniany]

Fantastic video! Thank you so much for uploading. Shame I came across it a bit late. I have a problem with the branch angle as my orchard has been a bit neglected due me being abroad. Never delete this video as someone said! Merry Christmas all

[@SKITTZ0]

Great informative video! People should just give it a rest about the music since it only lasts for a few seconds and you can use CC to read what he's saying during those brief segments.

[@ChrisC-bw3pu]

Really informative video. Helpful tips about removing buds and how to create best form. Havn't found that sort of info in other videos.Thanks.

[@myFUGEFGsquare]

Great tutorial for new apple grower 🇧🇩

[@scgoralski]

Excellent video, thank you!

[@arboristprotrees9766]

Excellent work

[@garyhirtz4392]

The best pruning vedio. From year to year.

[@nadeem9485]

Really helpful skill to share. Thank you

[@ProfoundConfusion]

Very helpful. Thank you.

[@geog272]

Super helpful!

[@knifetechnician]

Great Tutorial

[@tasneemmubarak843]

Wonderful

[@cedricmoore8053]

So helpful thank you

[@paulplatts51]

Awesome info thanks

[@myorchards4173]

nice training and pruning

[@lotsofgaming9207]

Very useful good information

[@chandraprakashpithwal9771]

Excellent.

[@flynnfogerty6402]

Very informative, thanku

[@santaclaws7207]

great video

[@hidayatsheikh7427]

Very brilliant expert taught the things very minutely but music was a bit disturbing but over all very informative

[@vickey1814]

Very informative, thanks 👍 frm india

[@rajuazad7478]

Very informative and knowledgeable vedio.Kindly display a vedio on gala strain How to create canopy on emla 111...

[@LauraEllen999]

Man, it's like someone decided to let their 4 year old nephew do the sound and editing, and just go ahead and post it on youtube : D

[@HarishSharma-dh2qf]

V nice

[@roypruett2334]

Look at 4th year pruning. 4 lower scaffold limbs. And 1’ up, 4 more scaffold limbs. Maybe 1’ up, 4 moresaffold limbs.Tip laterals. Tip leader. Rub off buds just below leader tip,

[@Shane_O.5158]

nice music, did the guy talk ?

[@vickey1814]

And how u have made t spreader, it's seems very good

[@happymusics]

How many apples should one leave/have on a branch? Noticed the weight of the apple cluster is weighing down a branch a lot.

[@robertbrawley5048]

4:10 to get wide branch angles rub out the buds just below the top most bud, below the terminal pruning where the leader is cut. @ 9:21 only cut off 4 inches of the lateral branch if you cut off more you get vigorous growth creating lateral branching you dont want so close to central leader you dont wantifast growing lateral branches because the buds develop too far apart called blind wood Tipping 4 inches off or the very tip off those short branches creates more fruiting spurs per foot of branch length 9:43 notching a bud to create bud break of that bud in spring to create a branch . One out of 20 notched sc might take buy a gallon of Maxcell for $150 to increase the chances of getting a lateral growing at that bud 10:14 head your central leader cut off the top most bud in this video Rub off two bud below the cut because the will grow vigorious and create acute crotch angles ( grow straight up ) the buds below where you rub off ( supposively) will branch out at wider crotch angles ( good luck on that)

[@BillyBob-so9xr]

Once that branch is off of there, it’s gone. Haha great vid

[@danpictish5457]

Strong John is wonderful but the music was too loud.

[@AstroRef68]

Great video My question is what is that thing looks like sand down the truck of the tree

[@_Sunmaker_]

At 3:43 he says head the tree 30 inches. That’s like taking out a year’s worth of growth. Also, most of the small trees I get are new grafts. I don’t think I’m supposed to do heading cuts on those. I’m so confused why he does 30” the first year then it’s okay to make small cuts after that

Excellent and valuable tutorial. Thank you. NB at 21:35 'Height' vs. 'heigth'. Is this American English, since I even hear you pronounce it with 'th' at the end, like 'width'? Just curious.

[@luciendaigle9981]

I’m new at this, what time of the year is best for pruning, spring or fall, I always imagine it would be fall after the leaves have fallen.

[@marktaylor1415]

Late spring early fall, like I live in TN so that's February but basically before any kind of bud break. This is the general rule other people will say different but you can't go wrong with just before spring

[@meadowlarkfarm9392]

Really good video. So when I do even small heading cuts it almost always results in a 'turkey foot' of 2 near vertical shoots just below that heading cut; rather than a profusion of lateral shoots down that scaffold that will develop into spurs. Is this due to the location of my cut w reference to the next bud down? Too much fertility? dense canopy?

[@vickey1814]

Bt sir there r 3 to 4 lower sap holding branches from same place, due to this leader may be week

[@irynakochubey1721]

Do sweet cherries grow good in KY?

[@scottdc2105]

Hello, i have an apple tree in my front yard and it is may 9, 2022 and the tree has not sprouted leaves yet, it is starting to sprout suckers on the trunk, just started. In the fall the leaves at the very top stay on it until late and i fertilize june and dec with manure. It grew very well last year and thought id get a good first year of apples this year but im afraid its dead or was harmed in some way. If i scratch off the bark on some areas there is green under the bark area. I trimmed it early in march and im afraid i harmed it. It has been cold here at night and im hoping the tree is holding back until a long stretch of warm weather hits. I snipped the ends off of many small branches and i see the green cambial layer, what is your opinion of why it has no leaves yet, is there hope for it?

[@VictorNewman201]

Did you tree wake up? I hope it did.

[@scottdc2105]

@@VictorNewman201 Last year it did come back as to the trunk but most of the smaller branches were dead. Most or all of the branches on it now are one year old and as of today april-11-2023 have not started to sprout except for some at the bottom. There are some sprouts coming out of the trunk at the bottom like last year. I think it will be fine for this year and believe it was a freeze last season that killed the branches.

[@calvinkalmon6746]

Music is out of place and makes it hard to hear what is important...other than that it is super good info!

[@sajalganze4018]

pruning time spring or winter invade of apple

[@anthonymccarthy4164]

Music is too loud and annoyingly distracting.

[@cheinc3886]

You used the same font as Jeopardy uses for their answers.

[@nat90957.]

Turn the music down

[@neilanderthal7908]

Turn the music down so we can hear the guy speak.

[@owais5301]

Koshur kus kus vuchan?

[@tinle6865]

What will happen if the tree is prune to where there is no central leader but with just only the lateral branches>

[@eQui253]

u can do that. It is called open center cut. Not common anymore and commercials dont use this method anymore. Wouldn't recommend an open center cut for small Trees like m9 rootstocks. Big Trees with a seedling rootstock however can be pruned in this style. It brings more light in the Center of the mainbranches, but weakens the overall structure of the Tree.Peach trees are often cut to an open center.. you can see how it looks like on some youTube Videos.

[@rajannegi8883]

@@eQui253 which is best rootstock ? (Leaving M9) ? M 7 or M26 ? M111 ?

[@eQui253]

@@rajannegi8883 i prefer m9, experimenting with m26 but the grow is something i am Not getting used to. Never tried M7, m111 so no Idea.

[@rajannegi8883]

@@eQui253 ok sir, I am from India (Himalayas). 95% of our lands are in slopes. M9 are not that cost effective here :( most of new orchards are now in m111

[@robertbuckner8904]

You would need to establish a central leader atthat point and let it grow and remove the competing branches.

[@arboristprotrees9766]

What the heck kind of pruners are those?

[@Catubrannos]

Double cut, less likely to crush the stems of younger trees.

[@alexcole4970]

Regarding the music... just read subtitles. Able-bodied people 1 dimension thinking 🤔

[@tonipounds2126]

If you could turn off or turn down the music, that would help. I really wanted to watch the video but could hardly hear the person speaking. No way I could handle that for 25 mins. Sad, I’m sure the info would be great. ☺️

[@thoreauviangypsy2356]

I totally agree with you about the music, Toni. I was just about to quit the video, too, but then the music finally stopped and the information that followed was really valuable. The music does briefly come back in between segments but it doesn't last very long, and this is one of the most informative videos about apple pruning that I've been able to find. I hope you will give it another try! All the best --- JC

[@nwlady1844]

music is good but toooooo loud

[@mastertechnician3372]

Music is too big

[@elainemottley5979]

L

[@mareilestoppel2772]

Prune the bloody music !!!!

[@russianbot6968]

Jesus Christ can the music stop already.

[@meruertmeyer8017]

Get rid of the music

[@ruthmarcy7992]

Stop the music!!!!!

[@royalanethridge333]

Too much talking too fast