If I had yours Roundface,I’d pick about four branches that are the farthest apart from each other and pointing in different directions and cut the others off.Pick the ones to save,that have an angle of 45 to 60 degrees if possible.Then cut about a third off of what’s on there and make the end cut of each,just above an outward facing bud.This shortening will help the roots develop better and the top will have a good form to build on. Brady
thanks! I think I know what you mean. I will have a go tomorrow after I re-pot. I think the weather will be nice tomorrow, Wish me luck. I will try to take a before and after picture. Is this done only on plums?
I do it with most stone fruit. Brady
I have I have 10 or 12 Japanese plums so pollinization should be covered. I did prune it back to four leaders and cut them back to try to try to direct the growth on the remaining scaffolds out instead of up.
I do too, except cherries, why this was a good question. Is this a cherry or is it a plum? Since the rootstock is a plum rootstock, I decided to prune like a plum. Cherries can be pruned many different ways. Also one can choose between 3-5 scaffolds. 4 is ideal, but sometimes you don’t have 4 good ones, or five are spaced well.
I also sometimes wait to choose final scaffolds as I may want to see how things develop before I make a choice. For cherries, i myself like the KGB pruning method.
Another question is cherries often produce too many buds near the end of branches, not enough leaf for good cherries there. If on a dwarfing rootstock. Fruit can become small if left… So heading cuts on all branches is a good idea for cherries. 1/3 as mentioned is good. Here though St Julain is not a dwarfing rootstock, so we shouldn’t see this trait on this hybrid.
I took a different approach with my Nadia. Instead of pruning anything off it, I’ve tied it down to train it into the form I want. I’ve done this before, but never with such a well-branched tree.
I was actually about to cut out 2 of the 3 central leaders. But, I tried bending it and even such big branches proved flexible.
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That looks great Bob. I wonder how much more growth you will get by saving all of those limbs. Mine didn’t have much in the way of roots so I’m not sure if it could have supported that many limbs. Keep me updated I will be curious as to how much growth it puts out.
With so many limbs are not some going to shade others? Looks more like a cherry than plum!
I tried to arrange the branches so that none are directly over another, though it is hard to see in the pic. It must look like it took a long time, but it was only half an hour or so. I made sure to make open loops around the branches so that they aren’t girdled when they grow.
I have high hopes for the tree, so it is time well spent. I’ve put it in a prime position- near dawn to dusk sun (maybe losing a half hour at sunrise and 15 minutes at sunset- the pic was actually taken one minute after official sunset) and at the end of the row, next to the driveway so that it can expand in 3 directions without running into another tree, yet close to half a dozen pollenizers.
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Awesome, I’m still waiting for mine. I have a good spot too. It’s the last spot I have! Off subject, but just an update, all the currants took, some looked like the buds died, but they sprouted new canes. All super small, and fragile right now, but alive!
I have a little concern about a pollenizer, I have Satsuma and Santa Rosa, they are new though, and it may be a few years before they flower. I do have a mature 4 in 1 pluot about 70 feet away. I’ll use that pollen by hand for next year, if I need it. Also a White Gold Cherry, I should mark and bag that and grow it out if it takes! I have bags I use for peppers and tomatoes to ensure pure seed.
I think that is what I will do to mine for now. I could not decide which branches to crop because they are not well positioned. Your Nadia have heck of a lot of branches!!!
8 on mine, 3 strong ones are very close to each other in the center, which is why I have a hard time trying to decide which to crop.
I probably will just keep 4 scaffolds myself, have to have a tree first! Still waiting. On my more mature trees the scaffolds expand like crazy, growing in every possible direction, so 4 seems like a lot to me.
Mine came in last week and I set it up as a fan (espalier).
Here’s crossing my fingers.
Mike
Yeah- I count 13 good sized branches. If I didn’t bend most of them down I think it would get way to vigorous. Trained this way, I’m hoping that the horizontal (in some cases pendant) branches will spur up and the leader will continue to grow upwards. Hopefully I won’t get a ton of water-sprouts from the lower branches.
I think you will get numerous watersprouts if the tree has enough vigor. This is a plum and will spur up even with upright limbs. I’d say that training system is more aligned with pome fruits. But still has issues there with watersprouts. But hey if it’s too much trouble it will be easy to convert to another system.
Congrats- I’m glad it’s worked for you. This year, I had good success rooting them in pots in the garage. Sticking them in the ground also works very well- the same goes for elderberries, red currants, and gooseberries.
Within 25 feet, I’ve got Flavor Grenade, Geo Pride, Spring Satin, Flavor Grenade and White Gold (that cross sounds fun). Within 75 feet, I have another 7 Asian plums (including Satsuma which is covered in flowers at the moment), and several more to graft on this spring.
Speaking of the white gold, it is the only sweet cherry I have at the moment. I had another cherry next to it, but it died- my fault, I was thinking of using it’s rootstock as an interstem and took too long to harvest a sucker- evidently, the rootstock kept the nutrients for the sucker and sacrificed the cherry. But the positive from this is that maybe I can get a cherry-plum if I plant the White Gold seeds. But, I think it is supposed to be self-fertile, so I may just get a self-cross.
Yes, apples and pears is where I’ve usually done this. Well, it’s worth a shot. Maybe I can keep it on track by pruning out the watersprouts as soon as they appear. It is in a high traffic area, so I should be able to stay on top of it.
Use the pollen, not the ovaries.
I was speaking of harvesting and planting my White Gold this year, when there are only plums and apricots around it. Too late to mutilate the flowers this year, as it has been in bloom for almost a week.
