Sam Bishop, Director of Education, Trees New York

1. Small trees, big flavor: fruit tree growing in cities and
back yards
Presented by: Samuel A. Bishop II
Education Director, Trees New York

3. The fence in the background is about 6 feet tall, and
this cherry tree is around 15 feet tall.
Problems:
Trees hard to work on without a ladder
Trees hard to harvest without a ladder
Trees cropping poorly when not pruned
Trees outgrowing space
Trees shading other crops in garden/space

4. This peach is tall enough that any
meaningful work required use of a
ladder or pole pruner/saw. More
difficult and dangerous for the
gardeners, and a source of
potential liability.
Bad Sam!
PPE fail!

5. The same peach
before pruning….

6. …and after. The tree
had a OK open vase
shape, but pruning had
been neglected. Next
year? Get out the
ladder again.

7. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peach_orchard_in_bloom2.jpg By: Karen Blaha

8. Tall spindle/High density
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Intensive_apple_orchard.jpg By: Glysiak

9. Tall spindle concept:
1. The trunk is the permanent scaffold on which we grow
fruiting branches
2. We use dwarfing rootstocks and root competition to help
control plant size. Trees must be supported.
3. Branches are bent to horizontal or below to encourage
fruiting and reduce vegetative growth.
4. We remove and replace the branches when they get too big.
“Big branches make big trees”-Dr. Terrance Robinson
5. Control height by cutting the leader back to a side branch.

10. Image from: http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/horticulture/pomes/rootstock

11. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/w
ebarchives/20060114032859/http://re
s2.agr.gc.ca/kentville/pubs/fact01-
01/index_e.htm
Bud 9
MM 106

12. http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/neworchard/english/apples/7system.html
Bend
branches
down to slow
branch
growth and
encourage
fruit growth

13. http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/neworchard/english/apples/12trainyr3.html
Once the tree
gets to the
desired height,
keep it there by
pruning back to
a branch AFTER
the crop or
bending has
bent the leader
down.

14. http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/neworchard/english/apples/11trainyr2.html
“Columnarize”
branches by
removing
vigorous side
branches, but
don’t remove
fruit spurs.

15. Image from: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/neworchard/english/apples/12trainyr3.html
Remove the 2-3
largest and any
upright growing
branches with a
“bevel” cut,
leaving the longer
side on the
bottom to make
bending the new
branch easier and
discourage
vertical growth.

16. Pear! (famous for getting
very tall) Tree grown
unintentionally as a
somewhat tall spindle. Note
branch bending, pruning the
leader to control height. The
tree had lots of fruit buds on
it.

17. Close up of
the leader,
pruned at
least 3 times
to control
height.

19. The principals of tall spindle
• Start with dwarfing rootstock (Bud 9 or similar size), you will
need to stake!
• Plant close! 3 feet between trees.
• When you plant, tie all feathers to below horozontal.
• To control tree height, cut back top to a side branch.
• Pruning yearly: remove the 2 or 3 largest branches (over ¾”
thick).
• Pruning yearly: “columnarize” branches – remove vegetative
side branches, leave fruit spurs.

20. Tall spindle resources:
• Ontario Ministery of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs; Planting New Apple
Orchards in Ontario.
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/neworchard/english/apples/intro.html
• Cornell University Extension & Outreach; Cornell Fruit
http://www.fruit.cornell.edu/tree_fruit/GPGeneral.html
• Umass Amherst Fruit Advisor
https://extension.umass.edu/fruitadvisor/resources/tall-spindle-apple
• Dr. Terrance Robinson keynote address on the tall spindle apple (including the story
of its development) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08phlXqzkwU