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Pruning a grafted cherry tree #813415

Asked October 06, 2022, 2:25 PM EDT

Hi… I planted a grafted cherry tree in late May.. it came from a nursery in Ranier, Washington. I am not sure of the root stock, but it has four cherry species: Montmorency, Lapins, Stella and Ranier, all of which produced at lease a little fruit. It had not been attended to, so the Montmorency graft is branching out about 2-3 feet front the ground, while the other three grow straight up to 6 feet with no branching. I want to even out the tree, balance it, and prune it so that the cherries are reachable. I was told to just prune the 3 tall branches to encourage them to branch out much lower down. But I want to be sure I won’t kill them! Please advise. Thanks

Multnomah County Oregon

Expert Response

Thank you for your question, Claudia.   When done correctly, pruning fruit trees actually helps maintain their health, in addition to increasing productivity.  Here is a short guide which explains the "when, how and why" to prune them:  https://extension.oregonstate.edu/crop-production/fruit-trees/tree-pruning-basics
Here is a longer Extension article on other factors to maintain a backyard orchard:  https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/catalog/files/project/pdf/ec819.pdf
I hope these help.  Good luck!
An Ask Extension Expert Replied October 06, 2022, 3:27 PM EDT

Hi… the first publication  on tree pruning basics did help.  I am wondering, since I did not prune in  summer , if I could prune back those three headers  (of the sweet cherry grafts) that are so tall now, or if I should wait until winter.  Here is the section of the publication that was most helpful and notes this habit of sweet cherry trees!  I underlined a couple of sentences.

At planting, head nursery trees at the height you desire for scaffold branches. Train sweet cherry trees to the open center system (figure 5) with three to five scaffold branches. Young sweet cherry trees often grow vertical limbs 6 to 8 feet without branching. You must head them to induce lateral branch formation.

Prune in summer to reduce the re-growth of vigorous trees. If a young tree is growing very rapidly, cut off a foot or more of new growth after about 3 feet of growth has been made in the summer. This will cause branching. You can hasten production by tying down or weighting limbs to horizontal.

To promote branching on trees not pruned in summer, head every shoot in winter to about 2 feet.  

So my questions are… can I prune these three headers now, and can I prune them back to 2-3 feet above the ground, to be even with the Montmorency branching header.


Thanks…

The Question Asker Replied October 06, 2022, 6:00 PM EDT
Wait until the tree is dormant before pruning anything except dead branches.  Young trees are susceptible to winter damage if pruned when photosynthesis is ongoing.  It will begin to grow again in spring, hopefully producing lateral, rather than vertical, stems.  
An Ask Extension Expert Replied October 06, 2022, 6:08 PM EDT
Thank you… and since the one Montmorency header branched out at 3 feet, and the other 3 sweet cherry headers just grow straight up to 6 feet, how far down on those 3 should I cut once dormant… thanks!

On Thu, Oct 6, 2022 at 3:08 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
The Question Asker Replied October 06, 2022, 7:48 PM EDT
Please look at figures 4 and 5 to see how much to reduce each winter:  https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/pnw400/html
An Ask Extension Expert Replied October 06, 2022, 7:51 PM EDT

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