Pruning Fruit Trees at Planting

Q. I planted some barefoot fruit trees earlier this year
and unfortunately several did not survive. This was my fault since I didn’t get
them planted right away and the roots may have dried out.  I want to replace them with container nursery
stock. The problem is that I want to prune the trees to knee to height per your
ladderless orchard recommendations. All the nursery stock trees have limbs well
above this height.  If purchased and
planted now, can these trees be cut back to the lower height when planted and
survive?

 

A. They can be pruned back provided the stems are not too
large in diameter. Pick smaller container plants that are in good health. They
will catch up or even surpass the size of larger container stock.

            I would
make sure that the stem or trunk is well under an inch in diameter so you can
cut them back. This should produce several new stems about 8 to ten inches
below your cut.

            Some fruit
trees sucker better than others. Peach and nectarine, for instance, have a
harder time sending new shoots up after they have been cut if the diameter is
too large. You should not kill the tree if you do this provided the diameter is
small.