U’re welcome. GF677 is stronger tha GxN for sure, and between Adara and Monrepos I would use Adara, is the plum rootstock that everyone use for their orchards, for some reason almost no one use Monrepos 
(that’s the reason cause u can’t find it in any nursery), but is your decision.
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Another interesting new hybrid rootstock is Mirared, which is resistant to Phytophthora and Armillaria. It’s compatible with peach, apricot, and plum.
It’s slightly less vigorous than GF677 and GxN.
I’ve some apricot trees with this rootstock
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Hi Primoz.
I’m not entirely satisfied with the video on the KGB training system, as it shows excessively long pruning cuts at the first, second, and third levels (like in a Spanish Bush system).
The goal of the KGB system is to obtain 12 to 18 axis very vigorous and strong , in a more vertical shape to prevent them from breaking under the weight of the fruit.
These images show the ideal KGB training:
If the axis are not strong enough, and the load is excessive, this happens:
Read the tutorial and you’ll see that in the KGB system, the different pruning cuts are made between 2 to 5 inches .
Best regards
Jose
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Thank you for posting this!
A pleasure Stella
Best regards
Jose
Thanks Jose for explaining the KGB cherry training system!
I see the full document is available here and here.
VCL is the way I grew cherries and it’s more of a shape like growing apples on MM106…
I know that’s traditionally how cherries are grown, and I’m going to switch all the cherries to KGB little by little because I manage the crop better.
Hi Ivan.
KGB is a very good training system for growing cherry trees grafted on vigorous rootstocks with a small planting frame.
The varieties that best adapt to KGB are those with a tendency towards vertical growth , and that produce little branching.
For example:
- Summit
- Lapins
- Prime Giant and its virus-free mutation Early Red Maraly
- Sunburst
- Sweetheart
- Etc…
In Spain, the KGB system is widely used in professional orchards, but in recent years towards here , the trend is center-axis formation as :
- Vogel Central Leader
- SSA (Super Slender Axe)
I will translate the Vogel Central Leader system because you won’t easily find it online:
The problem with central leader training systems arises with cherry varieties that don’t branch much.
In these cases, incisions must be made and promalin used to encourage the growth of new branches, but however, this method also has its drawbacks, as some of the branches forced to sprout through incisions and promalin have been observed to dry out within a few years.
Nothing is perfect 
.
I use the “Spanish Bush” training pruning system, and it works very well for me.
Best regards
Jose
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Thanks for these resources Jose! I was actually just looking at my cherries I planted last summer to start trying to figure out how to prune them properly.
I was wondering though if there’s any way to modify these or if different pruning strategies should be used in a deer-pruned orchard such as mine. I’m keeping the trees caged right now, but if I start making them bushy I’ll have to get creative as the deer pressure is so strong here over the summer they’re actually forcing their nose between the wires to chew of any branches near the cage perimeter.
What do you think would work best? Should I still go for lower bushy like you’ve shown, or would something kept a little higher be better for keeping the deer at bay? Currently, given the deer pruning the trees are naturally tall and skinny, but they still have enough viable buds along their trunks to change that.
Hi Eddie.
By enclosing your trees with metal fencing, you’ll still be losing the battle against deer, besides spending a huge amount of money and a tremendous amount of work.
It’s much simpler and cheaper.
You should consult with a specialized store to install an electrified deer fence around your property , these are certified and permitted; there are even kits with solar panels to charge the battery and have free energy for the electric fence 24 hours a day.
Regarding the restructuring pruning of your cherry trees, once you’ve won the battle against the deer, there are always solutions. These range from a gradual restructuring (over three years) for older trees that haven’t been properly pruned and are now overgrown, to more radical methods, such as changing the variety of your cherry trees to much better varieties , cutting the cherry trees 16 inches from the ground, to graft them with a crown system, and quickly obtain rejuvenated trees with good structure.
But all of this is secondary; first, you must win the battle against the deer, or they will spend their lives devouring your trees.
Best regards
Jose
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Good idea if I was going for a larger scale, but I guess I should clarify, I am not replanting my entire orchard, only adding 4 new cherry trees. The rest is 6-7 acres of 130 years old apples and stone fruit (a few surviving old cherries too) that are all acclimated to deer pruning anyways. Electric fences can be nice (I’ve built 2 before at my other place), but I don’t think I’ll be a viable option for me at least for now. Maybe if I eventually go to a large-scale replacement, but that is a big project for what I curently need.
Anyways, I know its against your primary recommendation, but I have to plan on having the trees with deer present. Do you have any ideas on how to prune them with that in mind? I was considering something along the lines of KGB but getting it above deer height at first using cages and then figuring out some way to keep it there. Maybe by topping the trunk higher or allowing the first few feet (~1 meter) of the KGB style to just go bare at deer levels? Possibly a modified central leader or something like your Vogel Central Leader but done higher? Either way, I can probably use a larger cage to keep the deer at bay at the start (like your 3 year restructuring?), but inevitably they’ll need to withstand generations of deer nawing like the rest of the orchard has.
For reference, these are the largest two. The others are smaller (cage height) and have a few more lower branches.
Eddie. I wasn’t suggesting you put up an electric fence against deer all over your property, just in the area with your new trees. If you don’t have many trees, a fenced area of 700 square meters (7,500 square feet), or his equivalent that is 100 meters of electric fencing (328 linear feet), would be more than enough to get rid of deer for good in a simple and inexpensive way.
But let’s talk about how to train yor cherries if you don’t use an electric fence.
Obviously, the idea of forming a cross with the primary branches at a height sufficient to be above the reach of deer is absurd, since the resulting tree would be excessively tall and inconvenient in every way, such as for pruning, treatments, and harvesting, which would require a tall ladder or a helicopter. Therefore, a system that creates a completely vertical tree and occupies little area should be chosen so that it can be protected with wire mesh.
Of all the systems, the one that best suits these parameters is KGB, not necessarily with 20 axis , 8 or at most 10 productive axis would be sufficient. You would have trees that are easy to protect with wire mesh (opt for strong mesh, but with a tighter weave so that deer cannot get their snouts through).
To restructure these young cherry trees (as tall as pines), they would have to be topped 40-45 centimeters (15-18 inches) from the ground so that the cherry trees would produce 4 or 5 branches, and beginning with their training in KGB system , however, in cherry trees, this creates a tremendous problem, one that doesn’t occur in other fruit tree genera, such as the plum, for example, which sprouts without problems if cut.
But the cherry tree is different, since the buds that remain below the cut at 40 centimeters from the ground will be old and not viable for sprouting, so the tree usually sprouts from the rootstock instead of from the grafted cherry variety.
That said, you should check if those trees have at least 4 or 5 viable buds for sprouting on the lower part of the trunk. If not, you’ll need to cut back 40 centimeters from the ground and regraft using the crown method to begin training in the KGB system.
Since there aren’t many good videos of the crown grafting method, I’m going to share a French video of crown grafting on apple trees, with a very good technique.
Pay attention:
In the video , I don’t want you to focus on the height at which the graft is made, nor on the materials used to tape and tie the graft, nor the paste used to close the cut wounds.
What’s important is the technique used to make the bevels on the cuttings , and how the cuts are made in the rootstock to ensure the cambium layers align (their technique is excellent).
The ideal dates for performing this type of graft on cherry trees are about 10 days before the start of budding ; here in my region, that would be at the end of February.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbhchp
You already have plenty of information to keep you entertained .
Best regards
Jose
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Unfortunately, the orchard is disked annually so I can’t put electric fences out there in the middle without problems… they drive so carelessly I lost a 6 year old peach tree a fews years back to them running it over. 
I’ve spent some more time examining my trees, the two larger ones (both of which are on k5) have sufficient buds for grafting over at that height.
The smaller two (one on g12 the other on g6) don’t really. Their problem is one whole side of the tree is just devoid of buds, so I cannot see how to make an even tree from that. However, they begin branch just a little ways above that, so possibly I could use that instead and make the kgb or possibly another system just start a little higher? Like at 50 or 60 cm? I could also probably t-bud in a bud from my pruning to fill the open side if need be.
Thank you for that video by the way. I hope to avoid it on these trees, but it’ll help me improve my technique elsewhere. As an aside, I actually used that method last spring to graft over a large plum rootstock into adara in preparation for when I pruned these trees.
50-60 centimeters is a perfect height for KGB training.
Since the trunks aren’t very thick, you can now save some cuttings of each variety and graft them using the Chip Budding method in April, below the cut, to start the KGB , with more axis .
I don’t like Adara because it’s not very vigorous compared to Monrepós.
I know that the American members of forum , don’t like receiving plant material from Europe due to the risk of disease transmission, but you need Monrepós in the United States.
Look at this image; it’s the Burlat cherry variety grafted onto Monrepós rootstock, and as you can see, there’s no difference in thickness at the graft union. However, Adara has problems in that regard.
I’m translating a document for you about a study on Monrepós conducted by CITA in Aragon.
Best regards
Jose
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Yes, it would be nice to have Monrepós and more here and available to the public.
Be that as it may, just before I cut here, would it be with leaving the branches on those trees that are already in that 50-60 cm range? (Pictured in my last post). They’re a majority of the buds those trees have at that height, but they’re all kinda on the same side, so I was wondering about if some may be better to keep than others orrr?
Eddie, unlike other fruit tree genera, cherry tree trainning pruning should NEVER be done during winter dormancy. Pruning during dormancy is a weakening , and the cherry tree won’t respond properly.
Once the trees are adults , pruning must be done during winter dormancy, as it weakens wood growth and encourages fruit production.
That said, you should wait until April, when the cherry trees are vegetatively vigorous, and then you should prune.
What is your goal, and how should you prune?
Your goal is to obtain a tree with a minimum of 12 to 16 main axis , and for these axis to emerge as close as possible to the point where the tree is topped.
With branches only 50 or 60 centimeters long, you’re not guaranteed the desired result. Let them grow to 70 or 80 centimeters, and once they reach that length, you can prune them.
How far from the trunk should you prune the branches?
It’s very simple: on each branch, count the first four buds closest to the trunk, and make the cut above those four buds. Since the branches are 70-80 centimeters long and vigorous, the cherry tree will respond to the pruning by producing a new branch for each of this buds.
Because the tree has three branches at a good height, we want to obtain three or four branches per cut, meaning between 10 and 12 new branches.
These 10 or 12 new branches are allowed to grow again to 70-80 centimeters in length, and the process is repeated, but this time leaving only 3 buds below the cut.
If all goes well, you should obtain a total of around 20 or 25 branches ( axis ), and the structure will be partially formed.
The following winter (pruning is now done in winter), remove the central branches (those inside the tree) and all the lateral branches that may have sprouted from the axis .
How tall should the axis be?
There is no set height, but every winter, once the tree is established, you should prune all the axis to a comfortable height for harvesting the cherries (3.5 meters, for example) and always remove any lateral branches that sprout from them.
Very important:
- Currently, your primary branches (those located 60 centimeters above the plant) are growing spreading outwards. You must tie them down with a non-constricting material so that they remain practically vertical.
And that’s all there is to it.
Best regards
Jose
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Jose, since you seem to be such an expert in KGB pruning, why don’t you post some photos of your garden using that pruning technique instead of photos from the internet? 
Best regards
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Kiko, why don’t you read the posts first instead of coming here to cause trouble?
Please read the end of my post from January 9th.
Best regards
Jose
@ Jose
Here in Croatia is a (web-) store that offers hobby growers a lot of grafted cherries -link. Which cherry varieties from that store match the title of this topic?
Adesoto, as an excellent rootstock for my soil, has a drawback in the description: It produces suckers. Is it a big problem in practice (more pruning)?
Battistini Vivai also sell Adara as a rootstock for cherry. What is the difference in practice: Adara as a rootstock compared to the Adesoto rootstock-Adara interstem in the cherry KGB training system?
Best regards
Ivan
Hi Ivan.
Nice nursery, they have some varieties I’d be interested in buying.
I have to go to work and don’t have time to answer all your questions in detail.
I’ll try to answer them later today.
In the meantime, I’m going to ask you a favor.
Could you call that nursery and ask if they ship trees to Spain?
I can tell you now that they have some interesting varieties, which I’ll describe to you.
We’ll talk in a little while.
Best regards
Jose
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Unfortunately Drijen nursery only deliver plants to Slovenia and Croatia.
Jose, I can redirect your package to Spain via GLS, DPD, DHL and similar courier services. I sent you a private message.
Best regards
Ivan