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nafex - [NAFEX] maintaining a central leader

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  • From: Alan Haigh <alandhaigh@gmail.com>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [NAFEX] maintaining a central leader
  • Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2009 14:11:45 -0400

If you want to maintain a central leader apple at any given height you periodically replace the top with another weak growing upright.  If you forget to remove flower buds from a top you were intending to maintain for awhile you just replace it or you can also let the weak drooping branch be the leaders end as long as it isn't excessively shading lower tiers.  You also periodically replace all scaffolds above the first tier when it becomes untenable to keep them from shading lower branches or to maintain that Christmas tree shape (misleadingly referred to as "pyramid" by the experts).  This occurs when the diameter gets much beyond 1/2 of diameter of branches next tier down. 
 
If you keep trying to keep excess diameter branches short enough you get excessively vigorous response so they must be replaced.  Diameter = root access.  Upper tiers benefit from better sun access so they are always advantaged growth-wise over lower scaffolds.  I also train branches more horizontally the further I go up.
 
For Jonathon you can relax the ratio rule a bit because the sucker truly wants to fruit.
 
I'm beginning to think that the best shape for an amateur to strive for in a free-standing tree (m7- 111) is a mushroom shaped weep with 3 or 4 scaffolds around 10' up and trained by leaving only drooping weak wood.


  • [NAFEX] maintaining a central leader, Alan Haigh, 04/02/2009

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