Delayed gratification

My apple scions have taken well in their first year, and now rest for the winter. Looking at them, you might wonder why they have no branches. The reason is I have cut them off. My trees are on vigourous franc seedling rootstock, and are expected to grow to at least six metres. This enables the trees to have lower branches that are high enough to walk under and allow management of the meadow below using machinery (or livestock). I would like them to be at around 1.6 to 1.8 metres off the ground, so the trees need to grow to over two metres before I allow branches to grow. I will also need the trunks to be sufficiently thick and supportive.

The process of trunk formation goes as follows: in the first winter the scion branches (known as feathers) are cut back to two or three buds (a technique called snagging). Snagging allows foliage to grow the following the year to produce energy to thicken the stem. The following year, these branches can be cut back to the trunk (lopping) to prevent them growing and competing with the upward growing stem (the central leader). The feathers from the new year's growth are then snagged. This process, a balance between providing energy for the trunk to grow broad whilst not competing with the central leader so it can grow high, will continue each year - until my trunks have reached at least two metres and are strong enough for three or four staggered branches to be selected to grow and radiate out from the trunk at the required heights. If a stem grows too vigorously, and is too thin, it can be cut back to a side shoot which can grow into a new central leader. Trunk formation may take three or four years, so it will be some time before I enjoy apple blossom. It's what psychologists call delayed gratification.