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Ask a Gardening QuestionBeginner Gardening Questions & Guides: First time gardener questionsDrooping Apple Tree Branches

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Drooping Apple Tree Branches

#1 · 4th March 2023, 11:05 pm

Hello all 🙂

I planted a semi established apple tree, Malus Everste. It's branches were upright when it first bloomed but in its second year all the branches have drooped downwards (seemingly permanently) due to the weight of the previous years fruits (it fruted heavily!). Is this normal? The tree looks lovely and healthy and is ready to push out this years blossoms.

Tree when first planted v.s now

Uploaded files:

#2 · 6th March 2023, 10:11 am

Hi @u0218835

Good to hear from you about your drooping apple tree.

First off, congratulations on owning a Malus everest. They are simply a gorgeous small garden crab apple.

Looking at your pictures if looks like the dropping has been caused by two things. Poor formative pruning leaving long whippy verticals and secondly a bumper 2022 for fruiting, especially apples, has caused them to be overburden with fruit.

In the first picture the top growth, long vertical stems should really have been cut back in half the winter before that photo. They're simply too long for the size of trunk and tree. It's like they've been in a really high nutrient soil and left to bolt somewhat.

This has then caused them to flop.

You can just leave them in a weeping format if you wish. It won't cause any drama. I would still cut off 1/2 now though of all the growth to an outward facing bud. To help ensure a more sturdy structure fro fruit.

Altiernatively cut then back by half to enable new growth to off shoot causing a more bushy framework. My apple tree pruning guide here should help.