I’m about to receive some wild plum (Prunus americana) trees which I ordered last fall. I’ve read that they like to thicket and grow well that way, or they can be grown as a single tree.
A thicket would be less work and take up less space. However, separate trees would be easier to pick and I’m guessing that I would also get more fruit. For fruit production alone, which growing culture would be best?
I would train it open center, like a peach tree. You will get good light and airflow. I would prune the scaffold to as high as you can reach with loppers or hand pruners. I don’t like to climb more than two steps to harvest my fruit.
A thicket might increase pest and disease pressure.
I’ve been trying to eliminate … one wild plum sounded nice around 1995…but been hitting root sprouts with brush killer for several years now and they keep popping here and there.
The thicket probably comes from the roots sending up suckers, rather than lots of seeds germinating, or several being planted next to each other.
I have a St. Julian that is sending up trees left and right. I’ve been grafting and transplanting them. In the open, I can just mow around them. This tree is in a deer-net protected enclosure.