Reply To: Which cane to choose with cordon spur pruning? 2 options available

[TEAM VMP ACADEMY]

I Try to answer to your questions:

1 – “Controlled Branching” is the principle, so you should grow each year the tertiary structures using a small piece of living wood. If you cut 1 buds spurs (1 bud+bourillon) you should use the cane developed from the bud (so the father cane). In this way you always grow the structure. If you have a long internode between the first and the second cane developed on the spur you should use the first in order to control the growth. 2 cm it’s purely indicative but still it is a notable growth for 1 year!

This situation (with long internodes) it’s quite frequent if you cut 2 buds spurs.

2- If you need to invert the growth direction in a tertiary structure of course you can. But in this case if you have a short internode between the canes you should follow the rules in the 4th principle “spare wood”. You are cutting a 2 years-old wood in the old spur and the spare wood must be long at least 2 times the diameter of the cut. So if you have a short internode you cant’ create a sufficient-lenght spare wood. In case of very close nodes (for example in 1 bud-spur) the diagphram can be damaged (if not by your blade, it can be damaged by the water and frost). So in this case -if you want to choose the first cane (basal cane) for the new spur you should cut the second cane (apical cane) removing the basal buds. So you can have a longer spare wood and, if you remove the basal buds, no shoots growing from that point. The spare wood will dry and you can reduce it next season. Be sure that you will assure the structure growth the year after this action, especially if you cut 1-bud spurs, otherwise you will create a small crown head in that point.