Did I kill my apple tree by overpruning - Ask Extension
Pruned vertical sprouts and crossing branches for over ten years with success and lots of apples
Medial issues kept me out of the tree for three yea...
Knowledgebase
Did I kill my apple tree by overpruning #870741
Asked May 30, 2024, 11:32 AM EDT
Pruned vertical sprouts and crossing branches for over ten years with success and lots of apples
Medial issues kept me out of the tree for three years
This year with a new cordless chainsaw I had at it and shortened the tree by half
A month later the leaves are shriveling and it looks bad
Benton County Oregon
Expert Response
Apple trees are pretty resilient, so I doubt you have killed your tree. You have certainly stressed it, but the usual reaction of an apple tree to hard pruning is to grow lots of new sprouts.
I see signs of what looks like powdery mildew on many of the leaves and sprouts. You can prune off infected sprouts if there aren't too many. Here is a link to treatment options in the PNW Plant Disease Handbooks. https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/host-disease/apple-malus-spp-powdery-mildew
I am suspicious that the distorted leaves may also have something to do with weather. Remember that hot spell we had in early May? If you pruned shortly before that, you exposed a lot of previously-shaded leaves to sudden hot sun. Many plants suffered some damage during that spell.
Take good care of the tree and go back to your habit of pruning it properly every year, and I expect it will continue to provide apples for many years to come.
I see signs of what looks like powdery mildew on many of the leaves and sprouts. You can prune off infected sprouts if there aren't too many. Here is a link to treatment options in the PNW Plant Disease Handbooks. https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/host-disease/apple-malus-spp-powdery-mildew
I am suspicious that the distorted leaves may also have something to do with weather. Remember that hot spell we had in early May? If you pruned shortly before that, you exposed a lot of previously-shaded leaves to sudden hot sun. Many plants suffered some damage during that spell.
Take good care of the tree and go back to your habit of pruning it properly every year, and I expect it will continue to provide apples for many years to come.