Am I too late to thin out my apple tree?

[fatsatsuma]

I think the answer is yes, unfortunately. First summer in new house. Lovely well-established apple tree (cookers) covered in fruit BUT most are still not much larger than golf balls. Some have fallen off in the last week. Am I too late to pull off some more in the hope that the remaining ones will beef up a bit?

Hmmm, honest answer: I don't know. I suspect that it might make a bit of difference now but that it won't be as much as if you'd thinned earlier. There are probably 4-6 weeks of the season left, so you might just be reducing your harvest for no gain. But someone who knows more may well come along with a more informed opinion!

My Bramleys are still quite small too. But that's OK because they have another month on the tree at the very least. Since it's your first year, I think I might be tempted to leave them alone and see what happens, then learn for next year. It is surprising how many fruit a large, vigorous tree can ripen.

Thank you, it's encouraging to hear that your bramleys are also still quite small. I think unless someone else comes along with advice to the contrary, I will leave them this year as you suggest and see what happens in the next month.