The stone fruit in my greenhouse planted 6ft by 8ft by 8.5ft tall, all have three or four main branches starting at about 18 inches. By the time they get to eye height, 6ft, there are anywhere from 10 to 20 "main" branches and more smaller ones. I think you could start out with up to 8 main branches and it would work just as well.

So at the point you are at, I'd just leave all the well positioned branches with good crotch angles. If there are fewer just leave more sub branches.

It depends a lot on whether you bought standard, semi-dwarf, or dwarf trees. Standard apples and pears will try to grow 30' tall, and they can have lots of good branches. Standard plums not quite so tall.

Do you know the rootstocks? They determine the ultimate size of the mature tree. Of course you can prune hard, but the tree will respond with lots of vegetative growth (rather than fruit) if you overdo it.

Not exactly sure what you mean by vase-shaped. Central leader(apples), modified central leader(apricots, pears and plums), and open center(peaches) are the way most do it.

Maybe someone can explain to me the difference between a modified central leader and a central leader because I think all central leaders are modified once the tree reaches the desired height.

Eskota, you can't be a regular here to suggest rootstock determines the ultimate size of a tree. Some members here employ a lot of summer pruning to make vigorous rootstocks stay quite compact. Also cultivar, soil and climate have as much affect on ultimate size of a tree as rootstock.

Bart, you can grow your trees as a vase shape (also known as open center). Commercial growers generally train free standing apples and pears to a central leader, but that is because it is more efficient in terms of trying to get highest per-acre harvest. For the home grower open center is fine for all species you mention and 3-4 scaffold branches is usually adequate. Varieties that don't throw out much secondary wood from scaffolds might require more scaffolds- at least for a few years.

Try to start with branches half the diameter or less of the trunk at the branches point of attachment to the trunk. Oversized branches create weak unions. Secondary branches should follow the same ratio rule with the scaffold.

Thanks folks!

It's been a while since I've posted or read this forum so I'm a little rusty on my lingo and even the most basic information needed to give an answer.

I've by raised in the "Don Yellman/Others in here School" of backyard growing which seems to be exactly opposite of what's published in the backyard fruit books.....don't winter prune, summer prune; forget the central leader and go with an open center; etc.

Anyhow, my trees are:

APPLE:
Gala - M111
Red Fuji - "Semi Dwarf" (Stark)
Pink Lady - EMLA7
Spartan - M26
Macoun - M111
Monark Arkansas - M111

ASIAN PEAR:
Hoisu - ?
Yoinashi - Betulafolia

PLUM:
Shiro
Superior

Some of the trees are easy and obvious as far as pruning goes but some (especially some apples) have 4 or 5 branches radiating out of the trunk on a few different levels so there may be nearly 20 branches spaced in 18" of vertical trunk.

Harvestman - so when deciding which ones to eliminate, I should remove the bigger, "stronger" branches and keep the smaller ones?

Thanks again,
Bart

For an open center I suggest you remove branches that are more than half the diameter of the trunk at the point of attachment if it's possible, especially for the Fuji, Gala and Macoun, which will take you on quite a goose chase with oversized branches. It will take them a long time to settle down to fruiting.

You can run with larger branches (if you're patient about fruit) if all 3 or 4 are similar in size but if 1 or 2 are much larger you'll end up fighting toothe and nail all summer to keep them in scale with the smaller branches.

Spartan and Macoun are reluctant branchers so you may want to head back annual growth a third on the scaffolds if secondary branching isn't forthcomming then pinch prune during summer to guide it's growth to a straight central leader with subdominant secondary branches.

One advantage of starting off with a central leader tree and then topping it into an open center after a couple of years is that you can use the center to help spread the branches a bit above horizontal using branch spreaders. Otherwise you'll have to use string attached to stakes in the ground or to the trunk of the tree.

With deference to harvestman, besides getting more production, the reason apples are trained to a central leader is that low branches (or multiple trunks) will droop to the ground from the weight of the crop if you shape like a peach tree. Of course, you can do it any way you want.

"The most often endorsed shape is the Christmas tree for apples and pears and some kinds of plums, especially Euro plums, and the open center for peaches, Jap plums, cherries and apricots.

I use the CT shape for all of the above, more often than not."

(harvestman quote from an '09 thread)

Yeah, I started using a central leader for peaches a few years back and so far so good. Requires summer pruning and I'm not sure if I'll be able to sustain the shape over the long haul, but I like the way the trees hold their fruit with their shorter branches- plus you can tie heavy branches up to the central leader to keep them above the deer browse line and protect from breakage. I find peaches just as susceptable to drooping from fruit weight as apples, except they are more brittle and are somewhat more prone to breaking, which is disastrous for an open center tree. Peach trees are hard to get replacement wood where you need it.

Well, to return to the original question-"Should I try to have them grow like a peach tree with 3 or 4 main branches? Or do I need to do something different?"- I'd say do something different.

Open center pruning was a response to brown rot on peaches in the south- it let sunlight and air circulation reduce the humidity that ruined the crop. The only reason I can think of to do it with apples pears and plums is that you don't like ladders.

Modified leader is really multiple leader- you let two or three scaffolds turn upward and compete with the central leader. Eventually, you top them all off. There's more pruning of crossing branches than with with central leader, but you'll get more production out of apricots and plums with the additional branching, and pears just have a natural tendency to grow this way.

Bart, you said "some (especially some apples) have 4 or 5 branches radiating out of the trunk on a few different levels so there may be nearly 20 branches spaced in 18" of vertical trunk." I'd take most of those off. Even if you later cut out the leader, you'll want at least 6" between each branch. And you'll eventually cut off everything below 3 or 4'.

I've never heard the term modified leader although multiple leaders is a concept I've often read about. I recall reading that the primary reason for this approach to pears is as a defense against fireblight- if you loose one leader, so what, still got 2 or 3 more.

I have no difficulty building a productive pear tree via central leader and in the northeast most are trained that way in commercial orchards I've seen.

Where'd you get the info that open center was a response to brown rot in the south? Maybe it was, but it is the primary peach shape all over the country and has been seemingly forever.

Of course the commercial industry is moving to other configurations for tighter spacings and speeding up maximum harvests. Here in the northeast most commercial plantings I've seen lately are still done to open center.

The deal with peaches is getting light low into the tree and regenerating annual wood where you want the peaches to be- not too far from the ground.

For the home orchard, open center is perfectly OK IMO and probably the easiest shape to master.

Just a footnote for anyone reading this old thread-

"The Pruning Manual" Edward Steffeck, 1958 (republished many times) has an illustration on page 86. Basic Systems of Training Fruit Trees. "left to right, tree with central leader, modified leader, open center."

Just to be a royal PIA that's Edwin and not Edward.