JoAnne Skelly: Pruning crabapple trees

Today I started pruning out the water sprouts in my four crabapple trees. Some people might call these “suckers,” but suckers grow up from the bottom of the trunk and water sprouts grow in the upper parts of the tree. I have been training three of these trees into a somewhat flattened umbrella shape for almost 20 years. The water sprouts just ruin that effect. So, out they come.

With four mature crabapple trees, this is a tedious task, because the water sprouts are prolific. Fortunately, all but one of my trees arch downward, after my years of training, rather than growing tall, so a lot of the pruning I can do from the ground or with my extension loppers. Some pruning does require a five-foot ladder and just a bit needs the lopper part of the pole saw. I try to stay up on pruning out water sprouts to keep them small enough to cut with my hand shears rather than needing to use a saw.

Before starting on the trees, I spray my shears and other cutting tools with isopropyl alcohol to disinfect them. Then, I do it again when I move from one tree to the next. This is important because there is some fireblight bacterial disease in the oldest crabapple and an old apple tree. Since fireblight can be spread not only by bees, insects, wind and water, but also by infected shears, I’m extra cautious with disinfecting. For more information on fireblight read my publication https://extension.unr.edu/publication.aspx?PubID=3223.

This pruning will take me a few days because I can only tilt my head back for so long, then I have to stop. The times have changed from when I could prune for six to eight hours straight. I do love to prune and shape trees and shrubs. The part I don’t like is picking up all the cuttings.

Another tree with lots of water sprouts is my Amur maple. Even though it was pruned this past winter, its shape is being distorted by all the sprouts heading to the sky. Unfortunately, most of this is short ladder work because I can’t reach it otherwise. I will use the pole saw loppers a lot too.

One tool I don’t use is the chainsaw on the end of the extension pole. It’s just too heavy, awkward and unsafe. I always advise people to stay safe when pruning. Don’t go up too high on ladders or extend yourself out too far to reach that last cut.

JoAnne Skelly is associate professor & extension educator emerita at the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. Reach her at skellyj@unr.edu.