Peach and apricot often bear heavily in alternate years. IOW - a heavy crop one year and a light crop the next. If you can detect and identify this habit in your trees, it would be best to root prune while dormant in the spring of the lighter years. That said, for the peach/apricot trees, root pruning shouldn't have much of an impact on yields or fruit size. In fact, root pruning of in-ground trees is making a comeback as a way to tame wild growth and increase yields in for many types of fruit. It is a fact that root pruning is an ESSENTIAL part of long term care of trees in containers, unless the tree's care giver is willing to tolerate the decline and loss of vitality that always accompanies root congestion. So, even if it did have an impact on yields, you'd still be pretty much obligated to do the root work. You probably have seen how growth can come to a virtual standstill due to root congestion. A famous tree biologist pioneer, Dr Alex Shigo, contends, "A tree that isn't growing is dying", and it's true. Trees grow when they create more food/energy (via photosynthesis) than they need to maintain respiring organs and keep their systems orderly, simply because they need a place to store the excess food. Trees stop growing when they make as much as or less food/energy as they use. No organism can sustain itself long term when it uses more energy than it can produce. So literally, as a containerized tree starts to slow down due to root congestion, it will eventually stop growing and start its terminal decline unless the grower intervenes on the tree's behalf. One might think that trees suffering from root congestion in containers regularly die from the fact they are using more energy than they are using, but that seldom occurs. Plants have a 'pecking order' determined by how strong different organs are in terms of their demand for energy. The stronger the energy sink, the more obligate the plant is to deliver energy to that part. Energy is first allocated to respiratory function, i.e. to maintenance of living tissues, then, to production of fine roots, followed by flower and seed/fruit production, then primary growth (extension of both roots and shoots), then secondary growth (thickening), and finally, the synthesis of defensive chemicals. Notice that defensive chemicals are at the end of the list. Most plants in steep decline, regardless of the reason, usually die from insect herbivory or disease pathogens due to the plant's inability to defend itself. You can also see by the pecking order (1 - living tissues, 2 - fine roots) that fine roots get the lion's share of energy outlay when the plant's chemical messengers signal an imbalance between top mass and root mass. So the first thing that will occur is, the plant will start regrowing the the roots you pruned off. That puts a temporary hold on top growth until roots catch up. For dormant tree which have been root-pruned, root pruning puts a temporary hold on bud activation until enough new roots have developed to support more top growth. Let's say you start 2 tree cuttings from the same genetic source in the same size pots. One gets potted up in the spring after you notice the root/soil mass can be lifted from the pot intact, while the other gets a full repot based on the same trigger (root/soil mass can be lifted from the pot intact). After 10 years and all other factors equal, the repotted tree will be many times larger that the tree potted up, it will have far greater vitality, will have produced much more fruit/ nuts/ seed/ ....., and will still be growing in a pot a fraction of the size of the tree that was potted up. Root pruning makes that much difference. Al

I just want to make sure. Lou just said the tree was now officially a three inch stump. That is right. I saw another comment about cutting it to ground level--that would scare me. Here is why. First, I have to admit that I have not done studies and have no official knowledge--what I have is just a lot of ovservations. The sprouts I have seen on red oak trees seem to me to come from points above the root collar--I can't recall ever seeing red oaks sprout from roots, even after the tree is cut. I can't say it doesn't happen, but I do know that a red oak tree will usually sprout vogorously from points just above the root collar. Hence my recommendation for the three inch stump. If the tree were much larger, I would have recommended a 5 inch stump above the obvious root flare. Anyway, to be on the safe side I recommended a three inch stump, "no more, no less." But if any of you have any more specific knowledge concerning this recommendation, let me know. I do know that the vigorous sprouts that come from as close to the root collar as possible make the better trees and have less risk of inheriting any rot from the old stump. But I recommend a "margin of error," hence the idea of leaving three inches above the root collar for sprouts to grow from. Also, the more sprouts for the first two or three years, the better, to maintain the health of the root system, which will be the support of the future growth of the tree. I know some other trees will sprout from the roots if cut. But I have a serious question about whether red oaks do, and if they do, whether the probability and/or quantity of sprouts would be sufficient. Well, I invite information from others on this point--even though I am getting "long in the tooth," I am as eager to learn as ever, if not more so. --Spruce

I think the thin trunks are just the nature of the beast, er cultivar. From what I have seen this is more typical than burning in full sun its first year. My Ogon was a small grafted mail order special so young the foliage was still orientated sideways when I received it like it was still a branch. The Arbor Day 1 foot regular Metasequoia in the picture I planted grew much thicker much quicker. Notice the trunk taper. Ogon does not seem prone to the fluted lower trunk the species gets if you leave the lower branches on. Notice the lack of thick base and thin top in the above photos. I have witnessed the thinner trunks in photos on here and all over Ohio where someone official must love Ogon. The kid is 35 inches tall for reference. I love my Ogon, just observing.

I seem to be doing my Hallowe'en reading early this year, having this month finished two rather large books, both dealing with supernatural themes. I absolutely lovedThe Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, and recommend it to anyone interested in "haunted house" stories. The book also paints a very interesting picture of how life in rural England changed after World War II. A few days ago I finished Peter Straub's sprawling (and quite gruesome) Floating Dragon. I am sorry to report I found it a bit disappointing, especially compared to his earlier novel Ghost Story, which is one of my favorite scary books. I prefer quiet, unnerving scares to gore. Also, the two books were very similar in their themes, which makes a comparison of the two inevitable. Hopefully my next reading choice will be a bit more suitable for summer. The brutal heat has settled on us, unfortunately. I am being a stubborn goat and not turning on my air conditioner until June.