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nafex - Re: [nafex] Strategy for maintaining trees for small property spaces: copicing

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  • From: sherwin <sherwindu@att.net>
  • To: nafex mailing list at ibiblio <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [nafex] Strategy for maintaining trees for small property spaces: copicing
  • Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:49:20 -0600

On 1/29/2013 12:26 PM, Steven C wrote:
Strategy for maintaining trees for small property spaces: copicing (?) plus
multiple trees per hole:

I am interested in growing multiple varieties of the same type
(species-wise) of fruit. At a minimum, I have one favorite variety per
seasonal ripening: early-, mid- and late - so 3 varieties per species to
start with. In addition, to these, I've planted other varieties per
season-section for the sake of diversity of qualities, but redundancies in
terms 'just having ripe fruit at that time frame'; these extra trees are
planted each right next to the the original trees/varieties.

What if I (initially) allowed all (3 like season section varieties per hole) of the
trees to grow to 10' tall and approaching "crowded". Then cut back 2 out of
the 3 to a few feet above the graft-union (or crown for self-rooted and seedling
varieties), while the one that is left to grow (for now) approaches 15' tall; when that
one reaches 15', i cut that same one to above the graft-union (for grafted trees) while
the other two reach 10'. Then i cut back one of the two taller ones, while the
shortest (was first to be cut back) is allowed to approach 10' and the one left alone
last finally reaches 15'. And so on, in rotation. This way: A. You will always have
one tall (to 15'), one medium (to 10') and one short while it waits its turn (around 5'
or less); B. always have fruit, but not always will a variety or 2/3 that fruit for
that year; C. Balancing the trees with careful pruning techniques is less of an issue
as you can keep starting from new (single stem) when the trees
reaches 15' tall; and D. The trees will continually be refreshed - may
help with disease-resistance as it will not ever be a 30 year old yet
continually pruned as a 15' tree.

Steve (NJ)

_
I think this is a bad idea. These trees will be competing with each other for nutrients and growing space.
Inevitably, these trees will start to impinge on each other making pruning a nightmare. I would recommend
planting smaller trees, say on M27 to allow more varieties in a given space.

Sherwin (IL)




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