Advice needed on Triple Apple pruning please.

[Nature's Babe]

I have a triple apple, one variety was dominating so my cousin advised cut it back, I did last year and the result was growth not fruit on the one we cut back, the other two varieties fruited well, but the dominating one is now much the same, more dominant than the other two and I am back to square one ! How should I prune now? Or would it be best to leave it to settle.

[John]

Hello NB
I had one of these trees a few years ago and struggled on with the pruning for a couple of years. These trees look tempting in the catalogues but for most of us, after a few years, they are just a real pain. My tree finished up in the log basket. Single variety trees are far more easily managed.

Sorry not be much help

John

[PLUMPUDDING]

I've got a quad apple and rather than try and keep the tree looking uniform I've decided it is easier to treat each variety like a separate tree. Just do the summer pruning to reduce the new growth and encourage fruiting and winter pruning to tidy it up like it says in the book.

Hard pruning encourages growth of leaves and branches and light pruning promotes the production of flowers and fruit, so if you only prune the vigorous one lightly it may slow it down a bit.

I've found the stronger growing varieties take a bit longer to produce fruit which they would do naturally anyway.

[Nature's Babe]

Maybe, its the varieties they put together John, I had a triple apple in a previous garden and it did very well, this one is not so well balanced, but thanks for letting me know they can be a problem, I thought i was doing something wrong. It's a cox and red devil and the third label is missing, blowed if I can remember the third variety.
Plum pudding that makes sense, thank you. I will try what you suggest.
Last year before pruning I had a good crop on all three varieties.

[Beryl]

I'm rather with John on this one. I had one to, Cox was the dominant one which made the tree top heavy and lean to one side. Laxton and I think Ellison orange was the other 2. All 3 varieties cropped very well but after about 12 -15 years I couldn't handle it any more and it had to come out. Its single varieties for me now and I have a very nice rockery in its place.

I wish you luck with yours.

Beryl.

[Nature's Babe]

Cox is the dominant one on mine Beryl, so I may be in for similar problems.