I usually don't bother spreading Goldrush as branches tend to spread all by themselves. I think you may be spreading them too much- shoot for 65 degrees or so. If they are close to horizontal they'll runt out and Goldrush needs to be coaxed to maintain vegetative vigor- it's a spur monster (early fruiter with low vegetative vigor). Of course, you have far to many scaffolds for the ultimate structure of the tree but Goldrush is a reluctant secondary brancher so you'll probably want to run with more of them than you would with something like a Fuji. Because it's a young tree the extra scaffolds are fine, and it's hard to find a balance between helping a tree develop secondary branching which more light helps and getting the tree to size as soon as possible which is done by pruning as little as possible. I work on that balance every day and still struggle with it. Every variety is different. I'm buying some Promelin this year to paint the scaffolds of reluctant secondary branchers. When determining the necessity of branch spreading consider the precosity of the variety. For pear trees spreading is almost mandatory as it is for varieties like Fuji and Norther Spy. Spurry types like Goldrush, Empire and Ark Black can often be left alone.

There are differing opinions out there, but personally I think you're okay to prune a few branches now if you wish. I do still think it's best in early spring, but I also don't think you'll hurt the tree or catch diseases if you do some now. If it helps you to do what you need to do for winter protection, I say go for it.

Mr. Dubai - I live in the desert outside Los Angeles and probably have similar soil to you, and climate. Super hot (108-110 F in summers) and mostly quite dry. And YES - straw and hay - they are GREAT for mulching and can double as a mix when you make your compost from kitchen waste, if you do that kind of thing. Put it on real thick - 6 inches is not too much. And YES also to the Alkaline soil - I have it too. I believe all sandy soil comes from once being the bottom of the ocean or a body or water. I think my soil is quite salty as well. It does not have many nutrients to it at all. Everything has to be added. Upon further reading of your last post, it looks like you are doing a lot of good things already and seeing results in the texture and feel of your soil. Way to go! Micronutrients may be needed at some point. I understand they might affect flavor of the fruits. I have a MahaChinook that tastes really not that good here, and it is a top tier mango on many people's tastebuds in Florida and in the Los Angeles are. I just don't know how much you'll get of them from mulches, manures and what have you....Looks like you might have to order that stuff on line and have it shipped. Be careful if you use foliar sprays on your plants. They do burn the plant when it's put on when the temps top 100. Better to hand water fertilizer to the base of the plant at your hottest time of the year. Once is cools down a bit, these foliar sprays really do trigger growth for me! I've still got to wait another couple weeks till we start averaging temps in the lower 90's before I try foliar sprays again.....And remember - Mango trees can burn with fertilizer. I try to use a weaker strength-ed mix and use it every couple weeks. But maybe your manure additive is working good for you - just watch out for leaf burn from it - that could mean it's too strong. Oh, I just looked at your weather averages. Your summers are very similar to mine, but your winters, January to be specific, look like you average about 75 as a high and 60 as a low. Mine are more like 70 as a high and 45 as a low. And it looks like you rarely if ever get frosts, so that's great! Lucky you. One last question - do your mango leaves get some summer burn on the hottest days? Mine do.... GOOD LUCK - MyADog

Again, based on (lots of) experience, for such small, low-growing trees, there's relatively little harm in just leaving it be. We're not going for perfection here-if we were, such matters would always and in every case be dealt with before they get to this point-but just what's reasonable and likely to matter. As such, this doesn't make the cut (buh dum bum) in my opinion. On the other hand, if one or the other rubbing branch can be removed without ruining the plant's structure and aesthetic appeal, then go for it. But just not a big deal either way. Sure, sure, rot can be the result of such wounding, but even there, it's not the kind of wounding that leads to heart rot any time soon. And heart rot is the type of decay that can move upward and downward fairly rapidly in a tree, not surface abrasion like this. +oM