there are some very high level fruit experts .. in the fruit forum ... whom i have never seen here

you might find that forum very helpful

ken

Yes you can as long as you follow the rules. Now is the time to pre-order your bare root fruit trees to be sure to get the varieties you want. Al

Thanks Ken & calistoga

I will check with everybody that will listen Trees are a situation where as you make a mistake it cost you years.I don't have that many left.Thanks agin

I can understand that John. I only shop for ones bearing fruit.

It's very unfortunate that the myth about cutting the top off of bare-root fruit trees at planting is so widespread. Even many of the suppliers are still recommending this practice. The facts just do NOT support this practice. There's nothing magical about edible-fruit trees that make them respond to this type of treatment any more than other types of trees. Trees respond and establish much better if not cut back. Cutting them back at planting robs them of stored energy and some of the resources (foliage) they need to grow roots. It also reduces the shoot-root ratio which would normally trigger more root growth. Sure, the trees still grow and often do fine, but they could do much better, and do so more quickly, if pruning was delayed until the trees became at least somewhat established. Section 11 of the link below applies equally to edible-fruit and ornamental trees and shrubs!

I do not understand the part of your question about "can you take the cut off and use for graft".

Here is a link that might be useful: Planting a Tree or Shrub

The reason you are advised to cut back a new bare root fruit tree at planting, is the assumption you are growing your tree in the open vase style, and so you want to establish your scaffolds from 24 to 30 inches from the ground. Many orchards now days are planted with the trees closer together and the trees are kept smaller with the open vase being replaced with the center leader style. Al

That reminds me of a statement that would go something like, "The reason you want to be sure to eat all of your spinach when you are puking-your-guts-up sick is because of spinach's benefits to things like vision, strong bones, and healthy skin."