Hello Doug - -
I’m surprised no one has jumped into this yet -
I'll take a swing at it, be assured others will hold different opinions -
So - I think all would agree that different varieties have different growth
habits and so respond in differing fashion to manipulation - so, ‘one size fits
all’ doesn’t totally apply - that said, fruiting spurs develop on two year old
wood - if you remove all the 1 year old wood you push fruiting back a year - -
When your trees were dug they lost a percentage of their roots - it’s generally
appropriate to reduce the top to ‘balance’ the shoot/root ratio -
Remove any limbs/twigs that are too low for your system - - and also any with
poor crotch angles that cannot be compensated for by spreaders/tying/etc
Then it’s a matter of evaluation - is there a manipulation or would no
manipulation result in blooming/fruiting spurs next year in the ‘sweet volume’
where you want to see fruit? - - here’s where the difference between Golden
Delicious and Fuji (for example) is huge - Goldens will develop spurs on two
year old wood near the trunk while Fuji is much less likely to - - managing
these situations is why horticulturalists make the big $$$
Anyway - for a ‘one size fits all’ recommendation, after the above, remove the
2-4 largest branches - consider bending the ones you leave if they reach into
the next tree’s space or into the drive road -
regards -
David Doud - once stayed in a Holiday Inn Express...
1/2” green, rain, mud, bah -
> On Apr 3, 2017, at 9:58 AM, Doug Nelson
> wrote:
>
> Good Morning,
>
> I am a new apple grower. I expanded my orchard from 500 trees to 5000 trees
> this spring. Most of the 4500 new trees I have just finished planting are
> still dormant.
>
> I am growing tall spindle on B9 and M9 root stocks on 5 wire trellis system.
>
> Many of the trees have feathers that are too big for the tall spindle system.
>
> Should I do a late pruning of these branches that are too big while the
> plants are still dormant or wait till next winter?
>
> The internet says conflicting things. I think it would be smart to remove
> branches so the trees dont waste a years growth.
>
> I plan on notching these trees every 4th bud two weeks before full bloom.
>
> --
> Doug Nelson
>
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