My 2 year old cherry got “pruned” by the neighbor’s cat (jumping over a fence and breaking off branches) and now is very lopsided. The tree is putting all its energy into one side branch. Can or should I head it back to about 50 cm above the ground (above the graft) to encourage new, balanced growth? That would remove the current lopsided branches. I should say that it’s on Gisela-6 dwarf rootstock and I’m trying to keep it small, for a small backyard orchard. If this is ok, when is the best time of year to do this?
Yeah heading it back hard is probably your best move given the situation. August is actually decent timing for cherries since the cuts heal faster and silver leaf risk is lower than autumn. You’ll lose a year of growth but it’s better than fighting a lopsided tree for the next decade. Gisela-6 should push back pretty vigorously.
Your plant is still very small, and if the side branch is still flexible I would make it the new header, put down a stake and gently bend/tie it straight up to become the new trunk.
Thanks, Joao and Fishsauce, for your replies. The side branch isn’t flexible anymore, and it’s coming out at a good angle, so that wouldn’t work – in addition I’m trying to do a vase shape (small backyard orchard style). I’ll go ahead and head it off now. Thanks!
Often all you need to do is pinch the tip of the fast growth that you want to stop and the rest of the tree will pick up, if you can, bend and tie that branch to where you want to keep it, pinch the tips, and hope the rest of the tree starts catching up, repeat in 2 or three weeks stopping the parts that you don’t need to grow, it should work.
But trim any breaks in the trunk if you haven’t already. Pictures would be good, you didn’t really describe it well enough to have anyone tell you to make big cuts.
When you say it’s 2 years old - you mean it’s been in the ground at your house last summer +this summer?
I’d actually worry that cutting it back that hard would kill the tree. It’s not a whip. I’m assuming there are no branches below that height? So you’d be cutting off all the foliage? If you look on the trunk below 50cm are there buds?
Sometimes these young trees just don’t have enough energy to get going in Spring if they don’t store enough now. And if the tree is putting all it’s umph into making brand new branches right now there might be trouble. Also, where are you? do you have a very long season? If I pruned back now I’d only have another 1 or 1.5 months of good growing time.
I’d be more inclined to try staking it. Then, prune to encourage new branches in good directions.
I know this is a peach tree, but here is an example of an unbalanced tree that @Olpea, who is very experienced, pruned:
I agree! Add some pictures! I also wanted to post some of what I meant by buds on the trunk.
One option you have for getting branches in a place they are not is to notch just above a bud, which will encourage it to grow into a branch. They use some chemicals which are helpful but the notching by itself also works. You do it in late winter/early spring and it can encourage that bud to become a branch. Here is an example on apple:
I went outside to try taking a picture of a cherry tree branch, but the pictures came out pretty terribly so I’ll have to add them later!
If I have a damaged tree like that at this time of year I don’t prune anything off now, it needs all those leaves left to grow more this year. Then in winter I will prune it back. The deer broke and nearly killed a small kiwi but I wrapped it back up and want to keep it vigorous enough to make it through the winter. I’ll start over from the base next spring.