When to prune apple trees

Prune apple trees in late winter, just before spring, when the trees are dormant and the worst of the cold weather has passed.

The window: Late winter or early spring, while the trees are dormant and the worst of the cold weather has passed; in the Wisconsin guidance this is framed as March and April.

The trees should be dormant, which is the plant-state cue the evidence ties to the pruning window.
The worst of the cold weather should have passed, reducing the risk of frost damage to fresh cuts.
Pruning at this point lets you influence spring growth.
In the Wisconsin framing, the window lands in March and April.

The mistake to avoid: Avoid pruning before the worst of the cold weather has passed, since fresh cuts are at risk of frost damage.

Timing varies by region and year; your local extension office is the closest authority.

Grounded in: extension.oregonstate.edu, hort.extension.wisc.edu. Every timing follows sentences verified verbatim on those pages.

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