Hi,
More information like how big they are and what your desire is that they should look like will help.And like the saying goes,a picture is worth a thousand words. Brady

The Oregon publication contains a lot of information but I doubt it will clear up much of the confusion about initial training of fruit trees.

If trees are on vigorous, free standing root stocks, one instruction that is very helpful is to remove all branches more than half the diameter of the trunk at point of attachment to the trunk and do very little other pruning until trees come into bearing. For apple varieties that are particularly vigorous you remove all branches more than a third the diameter of the trunk.

This will tend to create a relatively symetrical, compact and early bearing tree with strongly attached scaffold branches. Once the tree is bearing you can begin the process of height reduction and the selection of permanent scaffolds, even if you want an open center construction.

With this approach you will be making permanent decisions with a tree that is much easier to read in terms of seeing what needs to be removed compared to something so small that you have no idea about scale and what scaffolds will look like when they size up.

This is a method used all over the world by commercial growers of vigorous fruit trees but somehow has never made it into the literature of home orchard recommendations.

Commercial growers have to spend a lot of money to get their trees pruned and need their trees to come into production as soon as possible and this simple method of pruning by ratio saves on the time needed to educate the pruners and also to realize meaningful harvests. Trees with branches of smaller ratios bear younger and require less corrective pruning. Branches also are less likely to break under fruit load.

E-mail me for a copy of an article I've written on the subject if you'd like a more thorough explanation. It is actually a useful method of training all manner of trees- even things like maples and oaks, because it leads to the development of strong central leader trees unlikely to be damaged by storms.

Hi H-man,

I've tried to e-mail many times you using your e-mail address from your My page but have had no success.

I am not sure why. I just sent you e-mail a few minutes ago and the message said "Message Rejected".

My e-mail address on my My page is accurate. I have several Gardenweb members e-mail me directly.

I really wish I could send you private e-mail, too.

Well, I will risk it and just put my email down but put spaces where they don't exist. This should be one word- alan d haigh @ g mail. com

Strange, I was able to send myself an e-mail through gardenweb.

Just sent it again. It said Message has been sent. It should get to you this time.

Hope you could send me your article about pruning via e-mail, please. Thank you in advance.