OK, you have branches at 23" already and they're staying, and you want the next branches to be at 53". Got it. Cummins suggests you head the tree at 36", and they probably know what they're talking about, but that doesn't mean you have to establish a whorl there. If you cut the leader at 36" you will get some undesirable branching going on there. You will get several upright branches just below the heading cut competing for dominance. You could simply select one of those and remove the rest, leaving a single central leader. Then you can take one of two approaches: 1) As that leader grows longer, buds lower down will break out into branches with better angles of attachment. You aren't in total control of that situation but you can simply select the best suited ones and remove the rest. You can also encourage selected buds to branch by notching above them to block the auxin flow from the leader. 2) You can dormant head the leader next year or later when it is sufficiently thick at 53" and train the subsequent branches horizontally leaving one upright leader. The advantage in my mind of establishing branches at heading cuts is that the branching is very predictable. The downside is that they tend to be upright and have to be subordinated.

You don't have to cut it back but you can. It will respond by pushing considerable new growth and there is still plenty of time to form flower buds. FWIW, a local clematis wholesaler cuts back all their clematis (from all pruning groups) several times during the growing season to keep the plants tidy and prevent tangling of overly long vines. The plants are very full and robust and flower on schedule. I wouldn't necessarily suggest this practice for all zones, but it should demonstrate that cutting back clematis during the growing season will not hurt the plant.

Hi, and thanks for the link. It is proving to be very informative. I do have a question...it says on decurrent trees, you should maintain a single dominant trunk to at least 2/3rds of the trees mature height. My tree forks off at the very top into 2 branches that are of equal size. It looks as if it were topped at some point and then just grew into a forked shape. Neither one appears to be more dominant than the other. Also, about 2 inches below the top, another branch has grown out and it is also of equal size and length to the forked top. Basically, the tree appears to have a triple forked top. What I'm confused about, is if I should remove any of these. If so, when should I do it? Should I do it during this growing season? Should I let the tree grow for a year and then start pruning it? Do you prune in the spring? Summer? Fall? Also, though the tree appears to be healthy, it is oddly shaped. There are a few lower branches that have fully leaved out with large leaves. The 3 forked top, is starting to leave out but is mainly just starting to grow some new, smaller leaves. Thanks again for any advice, and please forgive my ignorance on the topic. MJ

The tree should be grown on an open vase system and I would view a number of videos demonstrating that system, and familiarize yourself on how to shape the tree. Peach trees are fast growers, so don't be afraid to prune out much of the present tree. Concentrate on the long term goal of making the tree as productive as possible. I would definitely make the bottom marked cut and the thin lateral growing out below it. Then I would lower all of the other marked cuts to where the laterals start to branch out.