If there are any branches that are crossing or growing too close.

Jul 20, The time for crabapple pruning is when the tree is dormant, but when the possibility of severely cold weather has passed. This means pruning should be done in late winter or early spring, depending on your local climate and temperatures. Suckers, the little shoots that come straight out of the ground around the base of the tree, can be pruned away at any time of year.

Jul 12, The best time to tackle weeping crabapple pruning is late spring before new growth begins. You’ll need pruners and lopping sheers for trimming, but if entire branches have died and need to be removed, you may also need a small pruning saw.

Sep 21, If you have an extremely tall ornamental crabapple you may want to consider having a professional tree service do the crown thinning for you, due to the height involved. The tools required are determined by the size of the branch or limb that you need to prune.

This may seem severe but you don’t have much room for the tree in your landscape. In years to come you’ll need to shorten most limbs by 6″ and remove any sprouts at the top of the trunk sometime in January or February.

In this way the tree will be kept small and. During the spring, most species and cultivars explode into bloom and the trees are covered in pink, white or red flowers.

As they are spring bloomers, prune crabapples directly after flowering to.