A few inches above the graft union on these Gala knipboom trees, you can see the heading cut made at 24 to 27 inches where the central leader then grew out. Five years ago, Charles “Chip” Bailey came back from an international tree fruit tour of Bolzano, Italy, excited about the tall spindle orchards he saw using knip-boom trees. But though he wanted to try planting a block, he couldn’t find any U.S. nurseries selling them. Knip-boom or knip trees, popular with growers in Italy and France, come into production quickly because their roots are two years old and trees […]