Fan training
Last post 12-06-2012 6:28 PM by @courtyardgarden. 4 replies.
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12/06/2012 11:30 AM
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Hi All
I'm just embarking on trying to fan train a morello cherry tree against a fence. I planted the tree (1 year old) in March, and later cut it down so it just had 3 buds on each side. These have all now developed new branches, and I'm trying to decide which two to keep. The instructions I've got say to keep only the strongest shoot on each side, but I'm wondering how important this is.
* The top two are the strongest: but ideally I'd like the tree to branch from a bit lower down to cover the fence from lower down.
* The next two down are OK but the one on the right is much stronger than the one on the left (the one on the left is the weakest on the tree). But I wondered whether it would catch up if I take out the others, so that the tree is just focusing all its energies on those two?
* The bottom two are both strong, but the left hand one is growing slightly towards the garden rather than along the fence, so I would need to bend it back slightly - not sure if that will cause it a problem. I'm also a bit nervous about cutting down so there is only one pair of buds above the dwarfing rootstock in case something goes wrong and one of the new branches dies back - feels I would have more options if I keep more of the main stem.
If anybody has any tips that would be great!!
Di
@courtyardgarden
http://www.thecourtyardgardener.com
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12/06/2012 01:29 PM
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I'd start by getting the RHS Pruning and Training book (by Brickell) as it shows you how to do this and is really detailed yet easy to follow.
What height did you cut it back to in March? We tend to use 15" - 18" for fans.
Are you intending to train it as a Y-fan or a Palmette - the latter is often seen in garden centres and sold as a "fan" but essentially it is an espalier with the arms at an angle. Y-fans are sometimes a bit easier to control because you have removed the central leader.
The topmost shoots will often tend to be stronger at this point, but if you remove them the others will soon catch up.
During the first year it is a good idea to keep your options open (as you are doing) by leaving some unnecessary shoots in place. These help feed the tree and also provide a fallback if things go wrong. You can probably remove them next spring once you are confident the primary arms have started to grow. Don't worry too much about the precise aesthetics at this stage, after a few years the main limbs will be much thicker and you won't be able to see the bending and tying into place that you might have resorted to at the start.
www.orangepippintrees.co.uk
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12/06/2012 04:34 PM
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Hello! Thanks for the advice. I was holding off spending money as it's a tiny garden so I don't have space to do any more fancy pruning, but maybe I should just make the investment!
I'm doing it as a y-fan, and have already cut out the central leader, so that decision is made :o) It's cut off at about 40cm and has 3 pairs of buds below that (the RHS advice said 3 buds, but mine seemed to run in pairs so I assume it meant 3 either side).
Anyway, thanks for your advice - it's very reassuring!! Sounds like in the long run it won't make that much difference!
I think as I'd like to see the tree branch out lower down I'll just take out the top two and leave the bottom 4 and see how they go until next year, as you suggest.
Thanks!
@courtyardgarden
http://www.thecourtyardgardener.com
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12/06/2012 06:16 PM
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It sounds like you are well on the way to a successful cherry fan. I think the Y-fans are easier to look after so good decision! I am curious about your mention of the 3 buds, because that sounds like it might relate to palmette or espalier training where - unlike with a Y-fan - the central leader is retained so you need the 1st bud to continue on as the leader and then the 2nd and 3rd on either side to form the next tier of arms. Anyway, as long as you have your 2 main arms in place by the end of this year you will be fine. Young cherries can grow at quite a pace, once it settles in it will probably put on another metre of growth this year.
www.orangepippintrees.co.uk
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12/06/2012 06:28 PM
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I think the idea is you end up with only 2, but when you first cut you keep a few more I guess in case some don't do well! I am following a cross between these which instructions which mention 4 buds (http://www.which.co.uk/documents/pdf/cherry-pruning-153955.pdf) and the RHS instructions(http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=626) which mentions 3 buds. I suspect they both mean single buds (although I don't know how you'd keep 3 in that case given they go in pairs!): I've actually got 6 at the moment on that measure (3 on each side), which I think is wasting the tree's energy on branches it is going to lose, so I was planning to take it down to 4 at most now I can see they are all doing well. I just wanted to make sure they were growing OK before I lost too many (it already felt really scary chopping off the top 3-4 feet of the whip, which was quite tall!) So I think maybe I'll get rid of two of the 6 soon, but then let the other 4 go until later in summer and then pick which two of those to keep. As long as I don't kill it I'll be happy - I'm not in a particular hurry. I quite like these projects with a slow pay off (I think in general in life I enjoy the journey at least as much as the arrival!) It seems quite happy and healthy so far. Thanks for all your tips, it's been very reassuring... Di
@courtyardgarden
http://www.thecourtyardgardener.com
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