Kevin: Cut the low branch so as to leave the collar area if it has one near the base. Then cut the central leader back to leave 3-4 main scaffolds that will form the vase shape. It's a little hard to get depth on the photo. But I'd be taking off the top and those three shoots right and 4 left. Now if you want a taller tree you could cut off the lower branches and make the same shape tree out of those 7 higher shoots. I'd also cut about a third off the ends of the main scaffolds. This is to increase branching and to stiffen the scaffolds so they'll hold up fruit next year. That would be my approach. Harvestman can now tell you the right way ;-)

cough: 1. If you have already planted 8 peach trees, and are still looking for more, I invite you to consider the following sincerely offered suggestions: a) Make sure you know what is involved in growing 1-3 peach trees before you plant a lot more. Growing peaches is difficult even for experienced backyard growers. Peaches can have a lot of insect and disease problems, and usually do. Do not believe anyone who tells you they are easy to grow "organically". b) Before planting a lot of any one thing, have a plan for the use of the fruit in the event you actually get some production. 2. I have a pretty good-size backyard orchard here, and currently have 5 peach trees. I could actually get by with three good varieties, one early, one late-midseason, and one good peento (flat) type. This year, 3 of the trees produced heavily, a mature Golden Jubilee, a young Contender, and a young (white) Sugar Giant. The Contender ripened extremely early -- July 7, and, since early peaches are not much good for freezing, we had to hustle to eat or give away the more than 50 peaches this tree produced. They are all ripe within a period of a week. The average person, weighing less than 300 lbs., can eat a maximum of 2 large peaches per day. Next to ripen was Sugar Giant, a sweet peach without a lot of flavor. It suffered badly from bacterial spot, and at least half the peaches were thrown out. This peach, a modern variety from the Zaiger program in California, was a mistake to plant here. 3. Because of the 4-day Easter freeze, the Flat Wonderful peento type had only a dozen peaches, but they were truly fine eating, and early to ripen. They have a firm flesh, but wonderful flavor. Because of their odd shape, peento peaches are difficult to cut up and prepare for freezing. The little pit resides right in the middle of the doughnut, and the peach does not split apart like a large freestone. If this tree produces a full crop next season, we will again be shoveling them in shortly after Contender is gone. I would be cautious about planting any of the white peento varieties, which are likely to be far more sensitive to brown rot and other maladies. 4. Golden Jubilee is a late-midseason peach, and this mature (12 year) tree was an abundant producer this year, with about 125 peaches, of which at least 3 dozen weighed one pound or more. My spouse froze 16 quarts of these peaches, which are firm, easy to prepare, and fine for freezing. But we still have a dozen of these peaches in the refrigerator. They ripened the last few days of August and early September. 5. The bottom line here is: I really don't know what we would do with any more peaches. Once you have figured out how to grow them, and protect them against all their enemies, they can be very abundant. After two early sprays with Imidan against plum curculio, and careful thinning, all my peaches were bagged in try-on "footies", which protected them against insects (mainly oriental fruit moth) for the balance of the season. And very effectively - without any further spraying. Footie installation is, however, tedious, and calls for some acquired skill. 6. If you are going to grow peaches, you should become familiar as soon as possible with diseases such as bacterial spot (on the fruit), bacterial canker (on the limbs), and insects like the plum curculio (early) and oriental fruit moth (all season long). After that, you can get some advice here on how to deal with those problems. You should select the varieties to plant very carefully, based on such factors as their ripening times, and resistance to diseases like bacterial spot. Planting what Home Depot happens to have on hand is not the best way to choose your peach varieties. 7. Without considerable effort to learn the essentials of peach growing, you can plant 100 trees and still not get any decent, usable peaches. On the other hand, two or three carefully chosen peach varieties, with the right care, can produce enough peaches to make your family tired of eating peaches, and the neighbors too. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

My Bonfire Peach tree is in flower. The thing is, the 4 or 5 inches of last years growth does not have blooms. All the blooms are lower on the branches. Will it do this every year? I thought it would be like a flowering pear and have the blooms all along the stems even the growth from last year......

TLBean, congratulations on getting a good deal! It often is difficult to know the long-term behavior of a plant that is relatively new. If it is still doing this when it's been in your garden a couple of years, then it might be cause for concern, but at least initially you can't necessarily assume that the current behavior will continue. I also wouldn't fertilize it this year unless there is a tested need for it. Pulling any weeds or grass within the dripline and replacing with a mulch that goes near but not against the trunk are the two most valuable things you can do for a young tree. Also, I would not water once a week but instead water long and slow when needed, as shown when you stick a finger a couple of inches into the soil under the branches and find that it isn't damp. Depending on rainfall and the texture of your soil, weekly and for how long may be either too much or too little. The only way to determine what's appropriate is by checking the soil. I am envious that you can grow ornamental peaches. My zone is just too cold.