North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Steve <sdw12986@aol.com>]

On 8/19/2012 2:42 PM, Steve wrote:
> On 8/15/2012 8:49 PM, Steven Covacci wrote:
> > Group:
> > I planted some grafted sweet-cherry trees this year and, at this
> > point, all of them are forked/divided into two vertical main branches.
> > I think that having a crotch low on the tree is not good.. I'd like
> > the tree to be shaped with a vertical central leader.
> > Should I, at this time, remove one of the two so that there is only
> > one? I did this with one, and now it's just a single trunk with leaves
> > (no branches) going up 8'; next year, I'll allow it to put out branches.
> > Also, with rootstocks such as the Gisela series and New Root 1
> > (Zaiger), won't it happen that in a decade or a few decades, the scion
> > will grow wider than the under-stock so that the scion will,
> > eventually, break-off from the under-stock?
> > Thank you,
> > Steve; NJ
>
> Steve,
> When I graft stone fruits, plums especially, I'll usually get two shoots
> that are about equal. I'll usually make the decision as to which one I
> will be keeping in the long run and pinch the top off of the other one.
> I keep both for a while in case something would go wrong with the one
> I'm keeping. Leaving more growing above the graft helps it to heal over
> the graft faster.
> With 2 tall shoots growing late in the summer like this, I would just
> leave them alone until spring. Next spring, decide which one is to be
> your trunk. You could just cut the other one off, but I would only cut
> it about half way. Go through later and cut them more if they are
> growing a lot. I don't cut them off completely until my trunk in 3 or 4
> times the diameter of the extra shoot. I do this so the cut off shoot
> will heal over in one season. Our growing season is short. In New
> Jersey, you might not have to worry about that.
>
> Steve (in the Adirondacks)

My reply to Steve in NJ didn't show up in the group, from what I can 
see. I'm replying from my sent folder and hoping it doesn't show up 
twice now.