Hi all,
I'm new here. I tried to find an answer to my question on random static pages through searching google, but I have a pretty specific question, and have found this forum as a place to ask such a question.
I've got an apple tree that I planted near the grave of my cat that died one year ago today. I bought the tree as a sapling, and it had already been pruned once by the looks of it. The main stalk of the tree had been cut, and a side branch allowed to grow in its place. From what I understand, this wasn't the greatest idea, but it wasn't anything I did myself, and I figured the garden shop where I bought the plant would have known better than to go cutting branches and stalks willy nilly.
After reasearching the issue, it seem like the best course of action is to let the main 'trunk' of the tree grow out, and adjust new growth to originate from there, like this:
[img]https://notaddicted.com/images/isobelle/pruneapple.jpg[/img]
however, my "main leader" (A) is already cut, as shown below:
[img]https://notaddicted.com/images/isobelle/bills_tree.gif[/img]
(the tree as originally purchased is shown left, with "today" on the right)
the tree has had good growth, but only from that one side branch, and it seems like that one length (B) is getting too long an narrow to be of any use. I've been good about eliminating suckers (C), but am up in arms about the main leader issue.
my question: it's winter now in Japan (where I live). is there a way to go about "recutting" the main leader that will cause it to begin new growth for the next spring? since that cut has shown no signs of growth at all, is it just a lost cause, and I should focus efforts on making that secondary branch become the new leader? how do I go about promoting that branch to be the new main point so that it grows "short and strong" instead of "really long and flimsy"?
any help at all would be appreciated, even if it's just a link to somewhere else where I can read up on it myself.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read!
-ixo
-
applestar
- Mod
- Posts: 30550
- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
An apple tree memoriam for your cat -- that's so sweet. I'm sorry for your loss. 
I'm just going to jump right in and say that unless you specifically bought an apple tree on it's own stock (root), your tree is most likely grafted -- this is the normal practice. A is the root stock and the B is the grafted apple that will produce the desired variety of apple. So it's pretty safe to say that your tree is SUPPOSED to look like that. Removing C from the root stock is correct.
In fact, if B is branching as much as your drawing shows, A is a significantly dwarfing stock that shorten the internodes (distance between branches)... or else you have a columnar spur-type apple (which requires different kind of pruning) Note that some dwarfing root stocks don't grow large enough root system to support the fully branched tree and need to be staked all it's life so the tree doesn't topple over. Also, apple varieties separate into spur type and tip-bearing type which also require different pruning procedure.
But basically, pretend A+B are one (don't ever cut B off of A or allow side branches to grow below the graft) and prune according to your first illustrations. I.E. pick the first scaffold branch (lowest branch) to be high enough that the branch weighed down with fruit won't touch the ground (recommendations vary so I'm not going to specify) and cut off any side branches below that, then pick a second scaffold either 1/4 or 1/3 of the way around the trunk and X inches above (can't remember -- at least 6 inches), etc.
Actually, your pruning instructions are for "central leader", suitable for standard (full) size apple tree, but if you have a semi-dwarf or dwarf tree, or if you're planning to harvest apples without climbing really tall ladders, you might want to consider "modified central leader" or "open center" to keep the tree shorter.
For a healthy apple tree, consider planting a guild around it. Also, do a search from the Index page here or look in the Permaculture forum.
I'm just going to jump right in and say that unless you specifically bought an apple tree on it's own stock (root), your tree is most likely grafted -- this is the normal practice. A is the root stock and the B is the grafted apple that will produce the desired variety of apple. So it's pretty safe to say that your tree is SUPPOSED to look like that. Removing C from the root stock is correct.
In fact, if B is branching as much as your drawing shows, A is a significantly dwarfing stock that shorten the internodes (distance between branches)... or else you have a columnar spur-type apple (which requires different kind of pruning) Note that some dwarfing root stocks don't grow large enough root system to support the fully branched tree and need to be staked all it's life so the tree doesn't topple over. Also, apple varieties separate into spur type and tip-bearing type which also require different pruning procedure.
But basically, pretend A+B are one (don't ever cut B off of A or allow side branches to grow below the graft) and prune according to your first illustrations. I.E. pick the first scaffold branch (lowest branch) to be high enough that the branch weighed down with fruit won't touch the ground (recommendations vary so I'm not going to specify) and cut off any side branches below that, then pick a second scaffold either 1/4 or 1/3 of the way around the trunk and X inches above (can't remember -- at least 6 inches), etc.
Actually, your pruning instructions are for "central leader", suitable for standard (full) size apple tree, but if you have a semi-dwarf or dwarf tree, or if you're planning to harvest apples without climbing really tall ladders, you might want to consider "modified central leader" or "open center" to keep the tree shorter.
For a healthy apple tree, consider planting a guild around it. Also, do a search from the Index page here or look in the Permaculture forum.
Thanks so much for the help! I figured something was wrong from the way the main growth wasn't going anywhere, it didn't actually occur to me that it might be working as intended I think that it was a "side branch" just threw me off so much.
I'll check out the links this afternoon (just checked on the thread at the beginning of work). If I have any more questions I'll grab an actual photo of the tree itself. Thanks again.
I think that it was a "side branch" just threw me off so much.I'll check out the links this afternoon (just checked on the thread at the beginning of work). If I have any more questions I'll grab an actual photo of the tree itself. Thanks again.