My suggestion is not to head the leader unless it has reached its maximum height, then head it back to a weak lateral in winter. As you mentioned, tie-down the leader in early spring, but don’t forget to bring it back up after bud break and before it stiffens in mid-summer (early July in Illinois). You can also make a notch above dormant buds on the leader to break the apical dominance effect. Or you can brush/spray the blind-wood areas of the leader with Promalin. Promalin is a growth regulator, so its effect is subject to many factors including temperature, rootstock, tree vigor, spur/non spur, etc. Mosbah Kushad, University of Illinois
From: apple-crop [mailto:apple-crop-boun...@virtualorchard.com] On Behalf Of Doug Nelson Sent: Monday, May 01, 2017 9:01 AM To: apple-crop@virtualorchard.com Subject: [Apple-Crop] When to Head or Tie Down Tall Tall Spindle to promote lateral growth? I have second year old tall spindles. Some of them are near the maximum height. Most of them do not have enough lateral growth. When should I head the tree or Shepard hook the top of the tree down with twine? I am next to a commercial tree nursery. They Shepard hook tie down in Spring to promote lateral growth. A few youtube videos about tall spindle indicate to do head in mid summer if the trees are tall enough. No one has ever talked about shepard hooking tall spindle. The literature I can find online is silent on heading or shepard hooks. -- Doug Nelson The Bluffs
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