Quick newbie question about pruning this dwarf peach - I’m trying to keep this tree small and low so my kids (ages 0-4) can reach the fruit. I marked the cuts I’m considering with green tape (some are mutually exclusive where I’m not sure whether to cut a branch back or off). Do these make any sense?
Your going to want to remove about 1/3 to 2/3 of the new growth each year. If you can keep your tree looking like @Richard you will have lots of easy to reach fruit. Also you have to thin the fruitlets.
Trees don’t thrive in pots the survive in them. Your highly unlikely to pamper a potted tree in a pot for a year to give it any advantages then planting into the soil once its safe to do so.
Have you considered to tie/bend down branches in addition to light pruning?
It is hard to estimate depth. So dunno if you got the space for a verry wide but low tree
But when keeping a tree low, id try and get the braches as low as possible and keep the close to horizontal.
Where are you in zone 6? Prune hard if you want it low. North Carolina State has very good peach pruning videos. You should watch them all.
Do not bend peach branches too much. 45 degree with a good angle where the branch comes off the trunk is fine. Peach fruit are big and heavy. Fruit load will help bend branches further naturally anyway.
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id listen to mamuang over me.
He probably has more relevant experiance to your situation than me.
@mamuang. I agree with the not bending “fruiting” wood a 100%
But for the framework, going lower than 45 degree’s is oky right?
If you watch those videos, you will have a good idea. It start from year one to older trees.
I have been wondering if you can turn some bushes into low single stem trees by pruning all new canes? Can you force it to grow from one stem? Will they branch off into new budding growth from that old main stem?
Can you make a blueberry tree?
Can you make a juneberry tree out of a Amelanchier alnifolia ‘Honeywood’ bush?
Can you make a jostaberry tree out of a bush?
Blueberry branches have a useful life of 3-6 years at which point you remove them complety. You can train you bushs to be vertical but you have to account for the rejuvenation. Grafting on to Sparkelberry can give you a small tree like foundation
Anyone grafting blueberries? Why? - General Fruit Growing - Growing Fruit
Ribes, Gooseberry Currents and there hybrids like Jostaberry are renewed every 3-5 years. They are quite often trained in columnar form call cordons.
Amelanchier alnifolia ‘Honeywood’ bush is a Juneberry, I guese you asking if you can stop a sucker forming bush from suckering and grow it into tree form. I suppose you would just need to graft it on to compatible non suckering root stock. You actualy have lots of rootstocks to choose from as Juneberrys will graft onto Sorbus, hawthorn,
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Thanks, those videos are fantastic. I’m in 6b, near Boston.
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There are a few if us in eastern MA. I am in central MA.
Like lordkiwi said.
you can make a small single stemmed blueberry. By grafting onto sparkelberry.
The industy is trialing this out. For better mechanical harvesting. (less berry’s loss between the multiple stems)
the “problem” with a lot of berry bushes though is that the older wood deteriotes quickly, it gets sick, or just becomes unproductive. So you will have to renew your framework. Or just accept the shorter life-cycle.
you can probably get a decent amount of years out of a single stem pruned jostaberry. You will have to stake it for life though.
Josta and Ribes aureum / Ribes odoratum. Are used to make single stem courrant / goosberry bushes/tree’s. They call these “standard” courrants
I just got a bare root Juliet cherry. I’m hoping to plant it out tomorrow, but the leaf buds are starting to expand and we have a 22 degree night forecast for next week. Is that too low, or am I better off heeling in the bush in a pot until the weather settles a bit more? Not knowing how quickly these cherries leaf out, I’d give it 50-50 odds as to them opening before that cold night.
i dont remember the exact temps the U of SK cherries buds can handle but seeing its a z2 hardy plant, i wouldnt worry about temps like that. same with honeyberries.
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@oscar While were on the subject of treeifying bushes you have to take a look at what @Viktor does to his honeyberry bushes
What’s the verdict on Honeyberries…are they tasty? - General Fruit Growing - Growing Fruit
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If your Juliet came from a warmer zone than your own I would err on the side of caution. It is almost impossible to kill honeyberries with cold temperatures. The romance cherries are tough, but not to the same degree.
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It was shipped from southern Michigan, which is nearly identical climate wise to my location. Who knows if that’s actually where they grew and dug it. 
I’ll probably go ahead and plant it. I can always wrap it in a few layers of Agribon if it’s looking dicey.
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Oof. Now the forecast is for 20. I’m annoyed that I’m getting bare root plants that are breaking dormancy. Last year everything was way slowed down, so that made sense. This plant was only 2 days in transit, so I’m feeling less forgiving.
almost eveywhere in the country is warmer than here so i often get trees thats starting to leaf out, or they send it to me 2 months before i can plant it out. i have a sweet cherry that i put in a 5gal. bucket and buried in a snowbank right now, waiting for the ground to thaw so i can plant it. got it late feb.
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