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Fruit & Orchards

Is it necessary to have fruit tree branches low?

14 years ago

I understand that low branches mean easy fruit picking, but in some areas of my yard I would really prefer the branches to be 6 feet off the ground. Can I train some of my new semi-dwarf trees to grow this way and keep the tree healthy (and somewhat productive).

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Comments (5)

myk1
14 years ago
Sure. You can shape your trees all kinds of odd ways.
calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
14 years ago
I guess it is normal to think of the convenience of picking while standing on the ground. How about the pruning from a ladder as well as thinning. Does your sprayer do a good job with a taller tree? Most think of ground clearance to be able to cultivate with a tractor or to even rototill or mow while in an upright position. The trend is to do as much from the ground as possible. Al
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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'.
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Comments (5)
I keep my branches as low as possible without touching the ground. That makes sense to me. If I can't mow under it anyway, why not just have a shrub rather than a tree. I might have to bend over more to pick fruit but that can't be any worse than moving a ladder around. Does anyone else keep the branches low like that? Fruithack - What IS under your trees if you don't mulch?
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Comments (1)
Anyone know what all the tall trees in and around Marlboro, Manalapan, freehold area are called. There is no way to know what you are talking about (and I assume you are talking about New Jersey). Can you at least describe the shape of the leaf and perhaps what the flower looks like? Or perhaps you can ask a friend or neighbor and point out the tree you are talking about?
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Comments (2)
Your Brown Turkey is very unlikely a grafted fig tree. That solitary productive branch is not uncommon for a young tree. Your Celeste dropping figs is a care issue. The most usual reason a fig drops its fruit is lack of sufficient water. Let the productive branch do its thing on your BT. If the figs ripen, the fruit can be verified as being Brown Turkey figs. Mislabeled nursery stock is a common thing. Young trees take time to reach their stride. Give them time to get there. A healthy fig tree can easily support fruit at a one large leaf to each fig basis. If a tree has 150 large leaves it easily can nourish 150 figs without sweating it. Moses
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athenainwi
14 years ago
You can shape your trees however you want. Just remember that if the first branches are six feet off the ground, that the fruit is all going to be above that, and your pruning even above that, so you're probably going to need a ladder to do thinning, pruning, picking, and spraying.
franktank232
14 years ago
Low branches are great, but if you have rabbits, they can get trimmed back quite often. Even higher branches in the winter become low with a lot of snow.
questor3
14 years ago
I like the semi-dwarfs also. My preferance is to train for @ 6 feet minimum of ground clearance. The reasons for this are the dear browsing and having the ability to mow grass underneath on a zero turn rider mower. The view from above on a ladder is quite impresive! Besides, spray coverage from above on a ladder is better in my oppinion no matter what height your trees are. One must of course, consider physical ability as well.

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