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I wouldn't top it to produce new shoots to graft on to. You can graft straight to older wood (e.g., with a bark or cleft grafts) with very high success rates on stone fruit.
(Budding) is the most commonly used method for fruit tree production in the nursery, but can also be used for topworking plum, cherry, apricots, and peach as well as young apple and pear trees. (Cherry, plum, apricot, and peach are not easily cleft grafted or whip grafted.)
Young, vigorous fruit trees up to 5 years old are best for topworking. Older apple and pear trees of almost any age can be topworked but the operation is more severe and those over 10 years old must be worked at a higher point. Young trees should have 1 to 2 feet of branch between the trunk and the graft. Otherwise the good crotch formation of the understock will be lost by the trunk expanding past the union.Trees up to 5 years old can be grafted at one time. On older trees about half – the upper and center part only – should be worked at one time. The remainder should be worked a year later.
Quote from: venturabananas on October 13, 2015, 09:32:56 AMI wouldn't top it to produce new shoots to graft on to. You can graft straight to older wood (e.g., with a bark or cleft grafts) with very high success rates on stone fruit.thank you! your recommendation would be topping it only when the scion woods become available?
Budding is generally used during the active growth season to produce new, small, grafted plants on desired rootstock. Topworking of stone fruits is normally done differently, with cleft grafts or bark grafts (both are very easy) at the end of the dormant season.
Funny as I chopped down this 10 yr. old, unproductive 25'W peach tree in order to get shoots to graft to next spring. That was a month ago and so far no output.