I was always taught to prune apple and pear trees every winter as by doing this it ensured a much better crop of fruit the next year. Besides doing the trees a ton of good by taking out any broken or old branches and making the trees less congested, the trees also look that much nicer and cared for.

The best time to do any winter pruning on apple and pear trees is between November and early March. This basically means between the leaf fall and the buds appearing. The trick is to make sure all your tools are really sharp, so secateurs, loppers and pruning saws must all be in good condition.

Take out any branches that are rubbing any others, any that are weak or diseased as well as the ones that are damaged. Also take out any branches that are crossing. Try to keep the centre of the tree as open as possible and you can do this by removing the larger branches using a sharp pruning saw.

It is always a good idea to keep the height and spread of the branches in check, so cut these back to a vigorous lower branch making sure that it's a third of the diameter of the branch you're taking out.

If your trees are spur-bearing varieties you need to shorten last year's growth on each of the main branches. You do this by pruning to about one third to a bud that's growing in the right direction. This will encourage the development of new branches and spurs. Cut back any side shoots that you find in the main framework to around five buds if they don't have enough room to grow as secondary branches. Then take out any that are growing in the wrong place.

If you have tip-bearing trees then prune the last year's growth on the main branches as well as the most vigorous side shoots back to the first really strong bud. Don't prune laterals that are less than a foot long. To stop the trees from getting congested, cut back some of the older fruited wood to strong young shoots or leaf buds.

I always think it is so sad to see neglected apple or pear trees but even these can at times be saved with the right kind of TLC. Apples and pears are wonderful fruit and I love to make jams with any fruit so if it is home-grown, even better.