Building a better Tree

摘要

Heading back young trees is a common nursery production technique which, in theory, creates a well-proportioned crown. But does theory translate to reality? The long-term answer may be no. Imagine two saplings (same age, same cultivar) at a retail nursery: an un-pruned specimen, tall and skinny with a few sparse lateral branches, and one that's been pruned to stimulate lateral branches which are starting to form a crown. Which one would a customer be most likely to choose? Before we answer this, let's take a quick look at tree development.