Snowstorm doesn't deter apple pruners at Murrysville nature reserve

A cold, blustery morning punctuated with a 30-minute snowfall Saturday didn’t stop about a dozen people from joining in an educational experience of pruning wild apple trees in part of the 183-acre Morosini Reserve in Murrysville.

As Camie Szantner of Export watched her 6-year-old daughter, Callie, carefully cut a small, low branch from an apple tree, she said the adventure would be a good experience for Callie and her brother, Weston, 5.

“We want to get them more involved with nature,” said Szantner, whose husband, Dan, joined in the tree pruning at the nature reserve off Route 66.

It was the fifth year for the apple tree pruning exercise sponsored by the Westmoreland Conservancy. It’s a Murrys­ville-­based environmental organization that oversees the Morosini Reserve, said Shelly Tichy, president of the Westmoreland Conservancy.

The event attracted “a huge turnout” of people in 2020, Tichy said, as it was held about a month before the covid pandemic clamped down on activities.

The event is held the weekend of President’s Day, not in the warmer weather because then the sap would flow to the open pruning cuts.

Their mission was to lop off the trees’ sprouts, which take away from the growth of the apple tree, as well as dead branches and any invasive species they found.

The annual pruning isn’t done to prepare to harvest the apples to eat, but for the apples to drop to the ground and create feed for deer and other animals, said Graham “Chip” Brown, a retired forester and Westmoreland Conservancy member.

The apple trees in the section of the reserve are wild, meaning no one set out to create an orchard in that section of the woods, Brown said.

Brown was quick to point out to less experienced eyes the apple trees interspersed among the other trees in the woods. He speculated that one of the largest trees might be at least 50 years old.

They worked from the ground, but Brown said that if they had ladders, they could remove branches from the center of the tree to allow for an air flow, thus reducing the possibility of a buildup of moisture that would damage the buds that could cause a diseased apple.

Brown said Saturday’s cold temperatures were a good thing because, if it were 15 degrees warmer, the trail through the woods would have been muddy and slippery.

One of those who joined in the fun was Mike Posner of Claridge, who was joined by his friendly golden retriever, Max, who did his part by chewing some seedlings.

Posner said he wanted to learn more about proper pruning because he has yellow delicious apple trees in his backyard.