It's the apple tree massacre!

24*, feels like 18*, 69% humidity, S 5 mph wind, cloudy, snow advisory

This morning when I let the dog out to eat snow or whatever it is she likes to do so much with snow, I took a brisk stroll around the garden to see how things look. My garden this winter has slightly more winter interest this year then the year before thanks to my rhodie, the new conifer, and a few bare of leaves baby shrubs. Still...there is much more that needs to happen!

Anyway as I stared at my apple tree I decided it was time to prune. As you know it is one of those multi-grafted trees with 4 types of apples on a dwarf rootstock. I've had them in the past back in CA, where i had a LOT of fruit trees but never with much success. A graft or two would usually parish the first year. Well not this one. It's done quite well and all the grafts took and grew. This is the second year I've had it and it has managed to grow some fruiting spurs for me so I MAY get some apples next year. (Crossing my fingers) But all the new growth looks kind of gangly with some branches shooting for the stars and some crossing. It's important to train a fruit baring tree right from the start. Despite having plenty of fruit tree pruning experience it's still a scary thing to pick up those pruners for the winter pruning. Out comes crossing inner branches, out comes the weaklings or the too-close Y's, shorten the long branches and make sure to cut an angle right above an outer facing bud...then step back and look and hope you didn't massacre the thing.