Hello, Two years ago we built a fencing structure to support the apple trees we had planned to grow. Last spring I purchased and planted one Honeycrisp and one Zestar apple tree along the fence structure. It was recommended from two different nurseries that I allow the trees to grow for one season to allow the root structure to take hold and grow more before any serious pruning of the trees to create an espalier form out of them. There are already buds forming on the apple trees and I believe we are at the end of the winter pruning season. The idea for this project spawned from an article in the Northern Gardener Magazine but I am unable to find the article for guidance right now. I want to get your advice about where to prune the trunk to start directing growth for the espalier. My goal is to have them in a horizontal cordon growth pattern with three to four tiers of paired branches to maximize the surface area across the fence structure. I believe the Northern Gardener article said to cut the trunk down to 6" to encourage latent buds to start growing for the first set of horizontal branches. Is that 6" up from the root flare or 6" up from the graft? And does my memory of the 6" cut sound correct? It seems so drastic to cut the trunk back that much but I'm pretty sure the article said to cut the trunk at a distance that was less than 12". Just about everything I look for online talks about pruning espalier trees after the tree form is already established. This first cut is so important, I could really use your expertise and guidance with this. My supreme gratitude for any advice, Tara (a Novice Espalier Arborist) P.S. The attached photos are showing the progress of a planter box we built but you can see the apple trees and the fence structure in the background of the images.