Yes, Tip bearers bear at the end of the branches. Dad decided to prune one of mums apple trees while she was out shopping. He cut every branch back by half. It took two years to recover before it fruited again. (Nearly as long for mum to speak to him) He didn't learn. He pruned a shrub border into a hedge shape, just as most of the shrubs were about to flower. Sometimes leaving it alone is the best option.
I've got a couple of Bramley Seedling apple trees that are about 5 or 6 years old and I never prune them. The mistake I made was not thinning the crop when they were young though and the one collapsed under the weight of the fruit. It's something to be very careful of until the branches and root system are strong enough. I managed to salvage the tree by cutting it down to the lowest upward facing branch and that's grown as a srong leader now.
Sorry to hear about your Brambley tree, I’m new to fruit trees and planted a Brambley in May and have one apple, reading the other posts I must be lucky, the garden centre didn’t tell me I needed another pollinator I bought another apple tree but that didn’t blossom at all. I’m sending a photo because I’m really proud of my very first fruit.
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Can you post post a photo of the whole tree so we can see if there’s anything in particular that needs amending by pruning?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Of the photos not the tree.
Oops - that's really the main query isnt it?
@fidgetbones - what is it with men and their desire to mould all living growth into regular mounds?
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...