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Fruit & Orchards

Ideal height of first branches on dwarf fruit trees?

8 years ago

What is the ideal height of the first branches or the first scaffold on dwarf fruit trees in a backyard orchard setting? I have 15 trees planted in a three row configuration, with 12' between trees. I am planning on mowing around each tree. I plan to train most of the trees with a central leader. The few exceptions will be pruned to an open center.

Ideally, I want the first branches to be high enough to avoid an unkempt look or to make yard maintenance difficult, but I don't want to compromise the future yield of the trees by starting the first scaffold too high. I've read somewhere between 30-36" is a good range to target, but I've also read that for dwarf trees others recommend 18-24". Any input? My apples are on either M9 or M26, pears are on OHxF 333 or OHxF 513, peaches are on Peach Redleaf, and cherry is on Gisela 5.

Of the bare-root trees I received from Stark Bros., the ones that had branched out have branches starting about 15" from the ground, which I believe to be too short. Before I do any initial pruning, I'd like some input from others on the topic.

Comments (5)

fireballsocal
8 years ago
Do you plan to follow the backyard orchard culture style of trees with a final height kept at about 7 feet or so?
RedSun (Zone 6, NJ)
8 years ago
At least I don't. My apple trees are spaced 18' apart...

For dwarf trees, they are supported. So keep the branches low for easy picking. This is how the spindle trees look like. You still need to prune the branches and let light in. Or the shade will kill the lower branches...
schwartzy18510 thanked RedSun (Zone 6, NJ)
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Scott F Smith
8 years ago
You can keep the low ones for a few years, but when the tree starts fruiting they will bend down further and then the tree stops feeding them and you will need to remove them. You can keep them for 4-5 years though, assuming they are not in the way of your maintenance tasks.
schwartzy18510 thanked Scott F Smith
schwartzy18510
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
In regard to following the backyard orchard culture method of training, I don't have a solid answer. From an aesthetics standpoint, I prefer the trees resemble trees more than bushes, but the reason we opted for dwarf trees in the first place was out of an intention to maintain a (mostly) pedestrian orchard. We'll see how things pan out, but for the time being I anticipate keeping most of our trees to 10' or less.

Another consideration I perhaps should have mentioned was the fact that we live in SW Michigan and it is not unusual to have snow accumulations of 1-2' during the height of winter. I mention this because we also have a very high number of rabbits in our subdivision. This spring I witnessed some local sumac which had been girdled approximately 24" or so from the ground. This was one of the reasons I was leaning towards the 30-36" range for the first branches. That height would allow me to keep trunk protectors on the trees up to the 30" mark.
fireballsocal
8 years ago
I think you answered your own question with the 30-36" choice. When keeping trees low enough to hand pick (BYOC), a lower branching structure means a greater fruit producing area. If you plan to keep the trees around 10' though, starting them around that 36" mark will still give you plenty of structure to produce fruit for friends and family once the trees get to a mature size. Your circumstances with snow and rabbits are much different that mine here in Ca. so where most of my trees will be kept to just over head high, your 10' makes more sense.

FWIW, I have a mature Washington navel orange and a fuerte avocado, both kept at the 15' range. I can reach all fruit with an extendable fruit picking stick and need to pull out a ladder only once every few years to top the trees and prune out deadwood. I don't think your 10' mark will be tough to maintain at all. Best of luck on the new orchard!
schwartzy18510 thanked fireballsocal

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