Did you WANT a central leader? You might try tying together 2 opposite
branches-- each bending the other upwards. Eventually, after a couple
years, they will be trained and you can remove the less desireable.
If you want a branched crown, it would be best to reduce the branch numbers,
I'd say to 4, considering I haven't seen the tree. Your description, of
all this growth being in one season, indicates a vigorous tree, so consider
summer-pruning instead of removals in spring.
----Original Message Follows----
From: Tom Olenio <>
To: NAFEX <NAFEX@>
Subject: [NAFEX] Apple Tree Training
Date: Tue, 09 Mar 2004 08:51:19 -0500
Hello All,
If the central leader dies out, and a number of lateral
branches emerge from around the top of a 2 year old grafted
tree (about 4' tall), is there an optimal number of lateral
branches to leave after pruning, setting the training
framework?
I have 6-9 lateral branches (all summer 2003 growth)
clustered within a foot of the top, and my gut says there
should be 3-4. None of them are upright, in a position to
replace the central leader.
The extreme cold of January 2003 must have injured the
central leader, and it died, inspiring these laterals..