Tree begins autumn pruning, putting leaves everywhere (5)
I believe the answer is:
apple
'tree' is the definition.
(apple is a kind of tree)
'begins autumn pruning putting leaves everywhere' is the wordplay.
'begins' says to take the initial letters.
The initial letters of 'autumn pruning putting leaves everywhere' is 'APPLE'.
(Other definitions for apple that I've seen before include "Pome fruit" , "pie?" , "Jonathan, for example" , "eg Cox, Bramley" , "Fruit used in cider" .)