Whiting Cherry Trellis Pruning

The Trellis

• A trellis for the Whiting method should stand 9 feet tall and 6 feet in length per tree and run from north to south. You'll need 12-foot posts, with their bases set 3 feet deep in the soil, and 12-gauge wire. String the lowest wire 2 feet above the ground. Space the second through fourth wires at 2-foot intervals with the highest strand situated 8 feet above the ground.

The Trees

• To be trained in the Whiting manner, sweet cherry saplings must be grafted to dwarfing stocks. Each sapling should be planted beside the trellis in spring at a 45-degree angle toward the south, so that its trunk reclines in an almost horizontal position beside the bottom wire. Leave a 6-foot space between each tree's base and the next. For their first summer, you can let them grow naturally rather than tying them to the wire.

The Training

• In late spring of the following year, remove branches and dormant buds from the underside of each inclined trunk before tying that trunk into a horizontal position along the bottom wire with gardening twine or gardening tape. This should allow all of the shoots on the upper side of the trunk to grow in a vertical position. Thin those shoots so that they stand 12 inches apart, with about four to six shoots on each tree. Once they reach the second wire, tie them into their evenly spaced upright positions. Some growers prefer to place an additional wire only 1 foot above the bottom wire to give those beginning shoots more support. Secure the shoots to the higher wires once they have grown tall enough.

The Trimming

• The Whiting method calls for any horizontal branches that form on the upright shoots to be removed. Since those uprights should be strong -- yet not so aggressive as to outpace the others -- cut off a weak or overly vigorous one about 1 inch above its lowest live bud in late spring, and train the new shoot that sprouts from the bud to replace it. In late spring of the trees’ fourth year, remove about 20 percent of the oldest uprights by pruning them back in the same way, eventually tying up a new shoot to replace each one. The following year, prune out one-fifth more of the oldest uprights, and continue to repeat this process every year so that eventually none of the fruiting shoots is more than five years old. Never allow the height of the trees to surpass 9 feet. Remember to disinfect cutting tools before pruning. You can do this by soaking the blades for two minutes in a solution of one part chlorine bleach and nine parts water.