With winter quickly approaching, you may be starting to prepare your landscape for the colder weather. As part of this preparation, you may be trimming back and pruning the various trees in your yard. However, if you have apple trees, there are a couple of reasons why you should never trim this at this time of year.

1.  Open Cuts Attract Bugs Looking for Winter Shelter

One reason why you should never trim your apple trees in the fall is that the fresh cuts will attract bugs and other undesirables that are looking for winter shelter. Not only will such insects as termites be looking for a place to keep warm that has an ample food supply, but fungi and bacteria may also enter the freshly made cuts in the apple trees.

Unlike hardwood trees, apple trees do not heal their cuts as easily, which would keep the interior wood exposed during the final warmer days of fall. During this time, the bugs, fungi, and germs will be able to invade the trees.

Not only will the bugs eat and damage the trees further, but the fungal growth and bacteria can lead to infections that may either set the growth of the trees back in the spring or kill them if the infection becomes widespread.

2.  New Growth from the Trimmed Areas Will Not Harden in Time

Along with not being able to close up in time for the freezing weather and allowing infections and bugs to invade the trees, another reason why you should not trim apple trees in the fall is that any new growth that starts to sprout before wintertime will not have time to harden up sufficiently.

If the new growth does not harden before the temperatures drop below freezing, it will most likely be killed. Once spring returns, these shoots will not only be unable to grow and produce fruit, but they may rot during the rainy season. This rot could spread to the healthier parts of the trees and severely damage them.

Instead of pruning your apple trees in the fall along with other trees in your yard, wait until late winter, right before warm weather returns. If you are unsure of the proper time and method of pruning your apple trees and are afraid you may damage them if you do the job yourself, contact a tree trimming company to discuss your options for having them do the task for you.

Share