Newbie here. Searched around a lot but am still unsure how best to deal with this little tree that grew 6 ft (!!) straight up in it first summer - not so little any more!
Our backyard is small & urban, in the Bronx, NYC. Sun in the morning & midday, dappled shade from a big maple tree in the afternoon. Bought the "supreme dwarf" version of Stanley prune-plum last year from Stark Bros. (no car to browse local nurseries). It arrived late November at about 3ft tall and went into the ground right away. Survived the polar vortices, leafed out in mid-May, no flowers. Then it started growing fast - and all straight up. A couple of side branches added a few inches, but none are longer than maybe 7". Pitiful.
I understand European plums like their "central leader", but this one needs to be cropped. My question is - how much? Should I cut it off completely, i.e. basically toss all the growth it produced last year? Should I cut it off above 3 or 4 buds? And what if it repeats the same spiel next season, from a new bud? Could I prune a young tree like this in summer? This past year I just let it be, hoping for it to get settled in & grow some roots, but for 2015 the gloves are off. Any other way to encourage some growth of side branches?
Thank you for letting me tap your expertise. Happy New Year!