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Example 8

Before pruning year 2

before pruning

The tree is in its second year. The top 2 or 3 feet of the tree is in the permanent nursery canopy. This means that some attention needs to be paid to spacing crowded branches apart and reducing upright stems that are competing with the leader. Reduction cuts are more appropriate when reducing stems in the permanent nunrsery canopy because this results in a wider canopy. Sprouts from heading cuts grow more upright than growth from reduction cuts. Heading cuts are fine for the temporary branches in the lower 5 feet of the tree.

After pruning year 2

after pruning

1) Here is the tree after reducing length of several branches in the lower 5 feet of the tree. Note that only the longest branches in the lower 5 feet of the tree were shortened - others were not long enough to warrant shortening.

2) Competing stems in the upper and middle canopy were shortened to allow the leader to dominate. Some branches that will become the major branches in the canopy were shortened with reduction cuts to direct their growth in a more horizontal fashion.