Apple trees- pruning

I planted 16 apple trees aswell as a few cherry and pear trees about this time last year, they are about 6-7 feet high. I am planning to transplant them in c. 2 years, all going well with a planning application.

My questions are;

Would it make sense to prune them back or do something to stunt their growth which would make it easier to transplant them when the time comes? Fruit production isn't really an issue in the short term.

Also, I've noticed in public parks and elsewhere, there is a bare ring of soil around the base of trees. How is this achieved as I would like to have the same.

Thanks in advance.

If you're not after a fruit yield, then by all means prune them back to keep them small and easier to move when the time comes. Spring / Summer pruning is a type of suppressant.

As for the bare ring of soil, I dont really know what you mean.

Thanks, how far back would you prune? One or two apples would be nice but if that's not possible then that's ok.

The bare ring of soil is just that. A ring around the base of the trunk that has no grass growing there.

baldyman27 said:

The bare ring of soil is just that. A ring around the base of the trunk that has no grass growing there.

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Perhaps that ring is some sort of weed/insect guard? Just a thought.

Cayne said:

Perhaps that ring is some sort of weed/insect guard? Just a thought.

Click to expand...

Possibly is, although the advantage I see to having it is that you can mow the grass neatly without having to take the strimmers to the base of the trunk. 20 trees x once a week doesn't sound too appealing to do that!

I would imagine its just compost or good quality soil placed around the tree in order to guard it from, like you say, strimmers and such. For total weed control, you could either line the area with a weed guard or place bark chips above it. Although if you didnt mind tackling small arounts of weeds, it wouldnt really be a problem.

For pruning, start with the older branchs and cut them well back. Prune the higher branches to be shorter than the lower, and make sure your shears are sharp!

Cut diseased and dead branches too, just don't go too mad cutting back as you could kill the tree.

Excellent, thanks folks.