Tree Dimensional

[Deleted]

Hi. I just put in a 'Stella' cherry grafted onto semi-dwarf stock. I need to make an initial pruning cut. It's a "Y" shape right now (one trunk, splits into two branches), about 4 feet tall. Do I cut down below the "Y" to leave it with just a straight stick about 30" tall? It hurts me to make these initial cuts when they look so puny anyway Any other tips? I've never tried to grow cherries before, but it's right next to my grafted apple, which I keep pretty tiny and which makes TONS of fruit, so I think it's a good spot for fruit. I have a small back yard, so I plan to keep this one at about 7-8 ft. all around.

[treedimensional]

Hi Juno!
Is one side of the Y dominant? As in, if you remove half of the Y, will the tree be straight or will it lean? If removing one of the arms will result in a noticeable bend at the juncture, don't remove it.
There are circumstances when you might make such an agressive cut, but considering the species, and the fact that the tree is privately owned and you will prune it regularly, you don't have to be extreme.

The most stabile structure for a tree would be to have one dominant central leader, with evenly spaced horizontal scaffold branches. However, this structure is very difficult to establish in fruit trees (Prunus and Malus). Structural stability is also less important because the trees don't become really large.
So, when you're faced with a split trunk on a very young tree, you identify (or choose) which arm would make the better central leader, and you subordinate the other arm my removing it's tip down to a good looking node (bud). This will not only slow the growth rate of the subordinated limb, but also accellerates the growth rate of the remaining one.
If you google "stella cherry tree" (or similar) you'll probably find a lot of specific advice from people who grow these; for all other pruning guidelines go here: hort.ufl.edu/woody/structural-pruning-flash.shtml
The link is not specific for production pruning, but does cover other strategies.

[Deleted]

Thank you! I'll go have a look at it and decide. It's a pretty even "Y", and the two top branches are pretty short. What if I prune it back to just before the "Y" to the top node, so that it (hopefully) sends up a straight leader instead of two branches? I've been pretty successful getting my apple into a central leader shape, but I mostly just get out there and pretend I know what I'm doing

[treedimensional]

Jan 13, 2013 16:07:36 GMT -5 @juno said:

Thank you! I'll go have a look at it and decide. It's a pretty even "Y", and the two top branches are pretty short. What if I prune it back to just before the "Y" to the top node, so that it (hopefully) sends up a straight leader instead of two branches? I've been pretty successful getting my apple into a central leader shape, but I mostly just get out there and pretend I know what I'm doing

You just want to remove the tip of ONE of the leaders, usually the smaller one or the one that is less vertical. Just the tip, not the whole thing.
If neither one is close to vertical, you can "air stake" the tip of the new central leader to help it become more vertical.