North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[David Doud <doudone@netusa1.net>]

apple trees require a certain volume of space to be 'happy' - they will naturally occupy that volume in differing configurations if allowed their natural form - (some are upright, some spread, some droop) - so, yes, you can train (one component of training is pruning) a semi-dwarf tree to a low form and keep it 'happy' and productive - the down side is that it's more work to achieve this form - 

give yourself plenty of room for each tree and life and training will be a lot easier - 

D

On Aug 11, 2008, at 11:52 AM, Geoffrey Stone wrote:

- given that we seem to be in a drought cycle it seems prudent to use Full Size or Semi Dwarf root stock for their deep root system which should have better drought tolerance. However, we would like to have our trees maintained to a reasonable height. The question: Can a tree on Full Size root stock be pruned in such a way so as to keep it to a reasonable size while still taking advantage of a deep root system? Is there a "down side" to this approach?

Geoffrey Stone

Earthaven Assn.

Black Mountain, NC

 

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