Open Center Vs. Modified Leader

How Fruit Type Can Affect Pruning Forms

By Lee Olsen

Two of the four most common forms of pruning fruit trees are:

• Open Center
• Modified Leader

Every tree variety has its own unique shape and size. Try using google's image search and enter a random tree variety. You will see that, in general, all of the trees of that variety have the same shape. When pruning fruit trees, we manipulate the tree to a form that fits our needs. Espalier, for example, is a pruning form that forces a tree to stay small and flat against a wall or fence. So how do you determine what form to prune your trees to? In this article we will discuss how the type of fruit can help you decide whether to prune a tree to an open center form or a modified central leader.

Open Center

When imagining an open center, think of a satellite dish and in order to get the best reception, the dish needs to be pointing towards the sun so that it can collect as much solar energy as possible. This solar energy will aid in the tree's ability to create sugars through photosynthesis.

Learn about the biggest mistake gardener make when pruning open center fruit trees.

Modified Leader

When imagining a modified leader, think of a satellite dish, with another smaller dish in the middle, with enough space between the two to allow for the sunlight to enter between the two dishes.

The question that we will address in this article is which form to use and why.

The simple answer in all of pruning, gardening, farming, and life for that matter, is it depends. Context is everything, but there are certainly some differences in the two forms that are worth considering.

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Personally I base most of my decisions on what type of fruit I am growing. For example, peaches are loaded with sugar and the trees tend to be very ambitious producers, setting a lot more fruit than the tree can support to maturity. A peach tree needs as much light per peach as possible, so there will be enough energy to produce the sugars needed for a large tasty peach. The best way to capture the light a peach tree needs is by creating a branch structure that is open, so each and every branch is receiving full sun.

Apricots are similar to peaches but the fruit is smaller and matures more quickly than peaches and have less sugar density per fruit. Apricot trees tend to be happy with an open center form, but an apricot tree can produce better than a peach tree with a modified leader. Apples are even more inclined to do well with a modified leader because the fruit takes even longer to ripen.

While many factors, like size, location, tree density, and the tree's natural habit, ought to be considered when choosing a form for your fruit trees, you can decide the form based on the needs of a particular variety of fruit. If the tree quickly produces large fruit with a high sugar content it will likely need more sunlight than a tree that has smaller, less sweet fruit that takes a long time to mature. We hope this will help you decide whether to prune your trees to an open center or a modified leader.

If you would like to learn more about the care and pruning of fruit trees, please browse our 100+ fruit tree articles here, join our Backyard Fruit Growers Facebook Group, and take our free Fruit Tree Pruning Course. Also, please subscribe to our Fruit Pruning YouTube Channel.