Here is our dwarf peachtree that has never been pruned, I'm struggling to know where to start on this.

And here's the apple tree we planted last nov. It doesn't appear to need any pruning yet except for maybe the tips. My question is what style is this? Open vase or central leader? Thanks!

Farmer,

I'll offer a few general comments with regard to the peach.

Most people don't prune their peach trees at all, or wait too long and then want to correct.

After this it can be pretty tough sometimes, though not always impossible, to bring it back to the shape or size desired. Perhaps an analogy would be building a house. If the foundation received little attention, it's difficult to rectify a problem, if the rest of the house is already on top.

The good news is your tree is still small enough you can train it any way you like.

If it were my tree, I'd select three scaffolds, going in different directions and cut everything else off. Ideal scaffolds point more horizontal than vertical, are spaced uniformly around the trunk, and are separated by about 4" vertically on the trunk.

This is going to get a bit complicated, but I'll try to give you some specific advice about your peach tree.

It's hard to tell from pictures, but on your peach tree it looks like you could select the big scaffold lowest down (pointing towards the right) for your first scaffold. Take a tree saw and cut the scaffold from the underside about 1/2" away from the collar. Cut about 60% through the branch with your tree saw (again from the underside). Move up the branch and inch and repeat (cut 60% through the branch from the underside). Move up the branch another inch and do it again for a third time.

Now that branch will easily bend down. Bend it down about 30 degrees from horizontal and tie it there with some string (make sure you tie a large loop, not a tight loop, around the branch so you don't girdle it). Don't pull so hard you break the branch off. Tie the string to something which will hold the branch at that angle. I strong piece of wire pushed in the ground makes a nice anchor, or a large rock, or a jug of water, anything.

The branch cuts you made with the tree saw will heal over and the branch will be set more horizontal. Because of the cuts, the branch will grow a little slower, which is a good thing in this case because it's currently too dominant.

Next there is a thin low branch pointing toward the left. Leave it. It should make a nice scaffold the way it's going. It is a bit too close to your first scaffold on the trunk, but these things happen.

Lastly, go up the tree a little more and pick a scaffold pointing away from the camera. I can't tell where on the trunk that occurs, but I do see some shoots pointing that way. You'll need to tie one of those shoots down. They look small enough you won't have to use the tree saw. Again tie it down about 30 degrees from horizontal.

Cut everything else off.

As your peach tree grows, keep pruning the strong vigorous vertical (upright) growth and leave the more horizontal growth. As you get more growth on the three scaffolds you selected, don't be afraid to keep tying things down if you want. You can always prune upright growth off, but you can tie it down too, if you are short of more horizontal growth. Either way, just don't allow that strong vigorous upward growth. It isn't the most fruitful wood, and it gets your tree too tall.

Lastly, it would be a good idea to put about a 4' ring of mulch around that tree. Young peach trees don't compete well with grass.

Olpea, thank you so much for taking the time to respond! This is really good information. I had no idea you could reposition a big limb like that! Again, thank you so much for your very helpful advice! :)

Farmer,

I mentioned this on another thread, but wanted make sure you were aware of it as well. If you choose to tie the highest scaffold down, make sure you leave a small stub above that scaffold where you cut the leader. If you cut the leader right at the top of that scaffold, and then tie it down, the wood will split where it attaches to the trunk. Leaving a little stub above the scaffold prevents that. Later, after the scaffold position is set, you can cut off the little stub.

This might help:
Training and Pruning Your Home Orchard
http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/22166/pnw400.pdf

Here is a link that might be useful: Training and Pruning Your Home Orchard

For the apple, I'd use a heavy stake to make the tree straight. I'd tape the trunk and largest scaffold to the stake to make a straight trunk- putting a hinge in the scaffold if it wouldn't bend by cutting a third the way into it on the side I'm bending it with several cuts with a sharp saw.

I would cut off both the other branches and in the next few years cut off every branch more than a third the diameter of the trunk (that is the diameter of the trunk at the point of the branches attachment) until the tree began to crop well.

Alternatively you can use the thin branch which would probably be staked to a straight vertical position more easily.

Otherwise your only options are to either head it back to below the existing branches and start over or to use the branches that are there to create an open center. To do this you need to summer prune enough to reduce the vigor of the larger branches and encourage the runt to catch up.

I spend a great deal of my time doing corrective pruning of trees that were either pruned ignorantly or not at all and have long since learned that it is better to sacrifice a poor structure and start over than to try to coax a poorly structured tree to reform, but if you are diligent you may succeed in being able to use the branches there already. It actually won't get you where you want to go more quickly, but it may reduce your pain a bit.

My approach is to treat all fruit trees as central leader for the first few years, removing branches more than half the diameter of the trunk mercilessly on less vigorous types and one third on vigorous ones. If I'm going for an open center, as I usually do with peaches and J. plums, I remove the center once the tree is bearing fruit.

This is a method often used by commercial growers, even if you don't find it in any pruning guides on the internet. If you follow up and treat secondary and tertiary wood with the same scheme of ratios (treating every branch like a central leader tree removing overly thick pieces off of them every time you prune) you will have begun to master the art of pruning fruit trees.

Thank you so much everyone for all the help! Harvestman, are you referring to the first apple tree or the second one, or both?
Olpea, thank you for adding that. I wouldn't have thought about!

I was referring to the second apple tree without even considering the first due to a lack of complete attention on my part. However, the same principals apply to both although it looks like there are more "savable" branches on the first one.

I should have mentioned that within all the current branches on the peach tree there are clearly three that can be your permanent scaffolds now and there is one that is way oversized and will throw the tree out of balance if you don't remove it, but Olpea gave you all the important advice you need for the peach.

Another thing you should know is that if there are squirrels or raccoons or both in your neighborhood a long straight trunk can be invaluable for installing baffles to keep them from going up your trees and taking fruit. In high squirrel neighborhoods it is not unusual for squirrels to remove all fruit way before it is ripe- especially peaches, pears and early apples. Coons and possums, at least, wait until fruit is almost ripe

Squirrels can jump up to 4' easily so in my nursery I usually don't position my permanent branches below this height.

If you are interested in a more complete explanation of pruning by ratios, e-mail me, and I will send you an article I've written about it.