The canes are cut back to 5-6 feet tall or if no support is provided 3 to 4 feet tall. The canes that produced last year should be removed anytime after harvest or remove them now. Canes are productive only one year and the new growth will produce the next year's harvest. The exception are everbearing raspberries such as 'Heritage' which produce a second crop in the early summer on the canes that produced last fall, therefore remove these canes after they produce early this summer. If left unpruned, fruit production tends to be limited to the top and outer portions of the tree.
Harvesting also becomes a real chore left to the giants of the family.
Apples should be pruned now until the first of March. Remove any dead, diseased or broken branches. Branches should not grow into each other or rub. The strongest branch attachments form 40 to 90 degrees angles with the trunk. Topping trees is unhealthy and also just down right ugly.