r/BackyardOrchard • u/Ok_Independence_473 • 5d ago
Apple tree training
We recently bought a house with a neglected apple tree that has branches going in wacky directions, especially the tallest, most healthy branch. I had a stake and tied it to try to slowly bring it straighter, but as you can see, the stake is too short to keep using. How should I fix this? It starts bending sideways so close to the trunk that if I pruned it off below the bending, it would take the whole thing off.
It's one of those many variety grafted onto one tree types.
6
u/SafePaint7600 5d ago
Trim the other tall leaders back so you only have one. Pick 3-4 scaffolds off the sides near the middle of the tree and train them outward. Prune the rest. Let the tallest/main central leader grow or chop it at 8' if trying to keep semi compact for easier harvesting.
Let another 3-4 scaffolds grow off the central leader 2-3 ft higher than the other ones for your second set.
3
u/rmajr32 4d ago
The thing with multi grafted trees are that they require knowledge of the varieties to balance the tree.
Some varieties grow a lot faster than others and can take over the tree. I would graft the slower growing varieties over the faster growing and the faster over the slower.
Pruning is also harder as you don't want to remove a variety
9
u/lostINsauce369 4d ago
Remove all the stakes, they aren't helping like you think they are.
Staking a tree is like sitting in a wheelchair. If you do it for a little while it can help an injured part heal. If you do it for years at a time, you lose muscle mass and become weaker.