Topic: creating a plum cordon

[newfruitgrower]

Hi, I'm new to this site and this is my first posting so I hope I don't mess it up! I've just bought a plum tree from Aldi and haven't planted it yet but after reading about fruit trees I'm now worried that it's going to get too big for my garden. I would like to train it as a cordon or fan against the fence but it is already quite big and the sideshoots are quite high up on the stem, so it is probably meant to be a standard tree. Could I re-train it to become a cordon? To make shoots further down, I would obviously have to cut the main stem back quite drastically. Would this be ok and would it survive? It measures 45" from the grafting point and the first side shoots are 21" up from the grafting point. Any advice would be welcome.

newfruitgrower

[manicscousers]

whatever you do with it, don't cut it until summer, the dreaded silver leaf disease can strike..our nectarine is the same height , I'm just going to top it to the height of the fruit cage.. ;D

[Tee Gee]

There is a bit here on plum culture; http://tinyurl.com/379wh4