Shoots on top of newly planted crabapple?

[KSQ2]

This looks a little strange to me, do I need to trim the top off when it goes dormant?

 

[Native Hunter]

Looks like that tree was pruned back quite a bit before they shipped it. I would recommend doing nothing right now and eventually training it to a central leader with the first scaffolding limbs about chest high or a tad higher if you prefer. Once you choose those scaffolding limbs, prune off everything below them and keep that area free of limbs. Keep the central leader growing straight up, and do just enough pruning to keep new branches going out from the central leader and above the scaffolding limbs balanced. Either next year or the year after will likely be the best time to start that training process, but this year is too soon. The task should become clearer after the tree has grown some more.

 

[KSQ2]

Looks like that tree was pruned back quite a bit before they shipped it. I would recommend doing nothing right now and eventually training it to a central leader with the first scaffolding limbs about chest high or a tad higher if you prefer. Once you choose those scaffolding limbs, prune off everything below them and keep that area free of limbs. Keep the central leader growing straight up, and do just enough pruning to keep new branches going out from the central leader and above the scaffolding limbs balanced. Either next year or the year after will likely be the best time to start that training process, but this year is too soon. The task should become clearer after the tree has grown some more.

Thanks Native. Just making sure, the picture I took shows what you would call normal growth?

 

[Native Hunter]

Thanks Native. Just making sure, the picture I took shows what you would call normal growth?

Yes, it is normal when one is pruned back that much.

 

[Mennoniteman]

Native is right on. I'd also caution, for young trees, overpruning is a bigger danger than not pruning enough. Young trees need to be allowed to grow, and pruning is mostly to shape them, not to remove excess material, totally different than old trees, where the shaping is mostly complete and pruning is to remove most of the excess growth from the year before. When young trees grow long whips and start to seem top heavy is when they need a good pruning, but only prune the long whips about halfway back. Rule of thumb for trimming, other than the main leader and scaffolding growing off the main leader, if a branch grows out the top or bottom of a limb you cut it off altogether and the branches growing out the side of a limb are left to grow new limbs, only trimming the ends off of them if they are long and thin.