Apple trees should be pruned in winter when they're dormant.

If you're growing a spur apple tree then it's important to distinguish which are fruit buds, from which the flowers, and then fruit will form and which ones are wood or growth buds that carry leaves, but no flowers.

A fruit bud will be a round big downy bud and a wood or growth bud is more slender and pointed bud growing in a leaf axil. These buds are usually much smaller and more insignificant than fruit buds.

So Robert, once you have identified the buds you can train your apple tree accordingly. If you want more tree growth at certain points, then prune your tree above a growth bud. Alternatively, trim away or leave fruit buds wherever you would like fruit to develop.

Before you go in for the kill with a pair of Secateurs, step back for a moment and try to visualise how the branches will look that come off tree growth buds. Take into account the angle that the bud is growing, as this will be determine the angle that the branch will eventually grow.

thanks very much for your advice Myron.I also have a spur pear tree planted at the same time and it blossoms every year but has never borne any fruit.It is planted right next to the apple tree. Any advice as to why this is would be greatly appreciated thanks again.

Like apple trees, pear trees need to be pollinated from a different cultivar in the same pollination group. This simply means a different variety from the one you have that flowers at the same time as yours.

My advise would be to Google 'Pear Pollination Groups' to find out which varieties of pears are suitable to cross-pollinate your existing one and then get one that you like in the group. It must be a different variety to pollinate the one that you already have, and the new one will also be cross-pollinated by your old one.

I'm assuming that you have had fruit on your apple tree? If this is the case then you're lucky, as there's probably a suitable apple tree nearby that has been pollinating your apple tree.