Peach bud break..one spot? Photos!

It’s not going to matter whether you lop or girdle. Everything above where it’s actually growing is probably dead and won’t draw any nutrients. I’d just lop it off an inch or so above the viable shoots. I’d also only let one really grow (maybe let another grow for a few nodes, then pinch the tip). Wouldn’t hurt to seal the wound, but probably not strictly necessary. I had pretty much the same thing happen with a redbud. It was dead to within millimeters of the graft, and managed to push some healthy buds. Took some careful effort to make sure it was only scion shoots and not rootstock, but it’s about 10’ tall and happy today.

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thats what I did, removed the top leaving 3" stub. I should be able to figure if any are from the root stock once the leaves grow to maturity.