In both species, occasionally mixed buds are found terminally on long shoots – these are the tip-bearing varieties. These trees are also easier to manage and harvest than full-sized trees … Spur-bearing varieties of apples are generally more suitable for stepover training than those that are more inclined towards tip-bearing; fruit buds don’t form on first-year growth stems, so if you’re going to prune away the majority of your first-year tips every year, you’ll be removing those potentially-fruiting tip buds on a regular basis. When pruning apples and pears, care must be taken to not remove much older wood because that is the site of fruiting spur development. Spur-type and dwarf trees produce fruit at an earlier age than full-sized trees. The picture below shows correct and incorrect pruning of an apple tree. You’ve got your winter pruning for spur-bearing fruit trees, winter pruning for tip-bearing fruit trees and summer pruning to keep your trees at a manageable height. Therefore, on mature trees … Use “spur-type” strains or grow apples on dwarfing rootstock to make training and pruning easier.