I have 4 semi-dwarf trees from Cummins, which I trimmed when I arrived, and potted up in 20-gallon pots. Finally have the deer fence up, transplanting now. I went back to their website and read their “Tree Topping” direction.
Trees are budded out. Can I still top to 38"? They say to trim back branches to 3/4". Should I just top for now and wait for dormancy to do the branches?
id just go ahead and prune it. ive done the same with leafed out trees. it wont hurt them.
I would leave the trees alone and let the existing leaves nourish the tree- maybe even tie or stake up the sagging branch. The less you prune a young tree, generally the better and cutting back branches by a quarter is old school- it is done during dormancy and , to my mind, is only needed with varieties that don’t send out much secondary branching, and not before the 2nd season of growth. .
I’m thinking if you remove the part with leaves the whole remaining branch may simply die.
Check out my article about pruning in the guides section.
