Another “lookit my tree” thread-low, open center

General Fruit Growing
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I am working on the transition from grafted rootstock “baby trees” to getting a couple solid multi-graft trees. Here is one candidate:

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So this is a St. Edmunds on m111. I like the starting structure, or think i do, perhaps not knowing any better. I want a low, open-center tree both because i like the look and the shortness. Not into a 20-footer…

My question is if this is/if a tree can be”too low”…the graft is only a few inches below the lowest branches so the vase shape is going to start 6” or less above my mulch once this thing is mulched in. I could leave more rootstock up but i buried it about eight inches deeper than original because it already had a couple burr knots. M111…had i known all my trees would be b118 i think.

Anyway. I know there will be some spreading to do, etc., but how about the tree? Will being that low at the branching point be an issue? Anything else to be concerned with?

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I think generally the height of scaffolds is higher simply for ease of maintenance under the tree. If you mulch around the full diameter of the canopy that issue becomes irrelevant. I think you’ll be just fine.

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I admit I had already thought mowing might be a problem…but thought perhaps that would be a good place to mulch in wild leeks or chives, then…

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The standard literature cautions against cuts to more horizontal laterals off of scaffolds to continue the leader to a more horizontal position, particularly for apples. Spreading, either by tying or with branch spreaders off of a dominant leader is the “preferred” method to develop a low spreading tree.

The reason is that the pruning injury of such cuts can lead to a long term reduction in strength, causing branches to break under the stress of crop load.

I believe in time, the wounds can heal to the point of achieving full strength, and in my nursery I just don’t have time to mechanically spread every scaffold, especially for peach trees. So I compromise.

In a home orchard where you only have a few trees, the extra time to tie branches down with string anchored to the dirt, or even the lower trunk of the tree may be worth it. I even keep temporary branches to tie or tape permanent scaffolds to at a more horizontal position.

You may end up with stronger scaffolds that are nice and straight instead of a series of arches that begin at each of those cuts.

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Alan,

I apologize if I’m being dense, which is entirely possible, but if I can sum up (and you return to the thread) so I can see what I may have wrong:

  1. You are saying one can, in theory, make heading cuts to all lateral branches several times, each time to favor a bud and eventual branch growth which is moving farther away from the center, spreading the tree by selecting scaffold buds that are aimed to grow outwards over several rounds of heading cuts.
  2. You are also saying this is “frowned upon” although you do it and haven’t had serious negative results…but one can also string-tie, spread with spreader bars, etc.
  3. You didn’t say anything actually about if the trunk depth/branching location or tree form might pose issues. I know you don’t often advise “how to prune” because you’d have a dozen threads a day, but any thoughts on the rootstock depth and branch location issue?

Thanks,
Mark

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No, I’ve had broken scaffolds that were trained this way, breaking right at the point of the cut. I just don’t have it sorted out in a formula of how many seasons are required for such a branch to achieve adequate strength. Most on this forum that have discussed it use string and anchors to spread peach branches.