Will a first year whip branch if pinched off?

General Fruit Growing
#1

Hoping I can articulate this question without a photo…

Have a successful graft done in april where three buds grew out. I pinched off two and left one leader. Now something has destroyed the growing tip of the leader… Not sure what

So what happens now? Will the remaining first year growth branch and create a new leader? or does the tree just sit there and do nothing since all the growing tips are effectively pinched?

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#2

it should branch out somewhere.

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#3

I take it your graft is still alive but going nowhere and that it has no visible buds? If it has a bud hiding somewhere (which it may if you didn’t pinch off the other two buds too thoroughly) it might grow.

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#4

Yea, lots of things can happen. It’s going to set a bud at the tip. Whether that bud or one more commonly in conversation to keep this simple would be that an advantitious bud or more than one grows from anywhere. And, it may stop growing this year. I’d wait for the tip bud to set. Then, consider any options, later… such as fertilizing.

cut it off fresh if it’s a very-recent wound a week or less old… you want to be able to see a bud set somewhere in place (or) buds

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#5

Hmm. Thanks for the responses. Yes. The graft is still alive. And there are still a good number of leaves.

I guess I’m not used to identifying a bud in new growth. These are grafts that have just pushed out so all the growth is about 3-6 inches long and just looks like a very slender stalk with a few leaves.

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#6

If it does push growth and tries to branch out (and you don’t want it to), pinch back the new growth on all but one. That one will become your new leader.