[devon]

Has anybody ever trained a cherry tree into fan shape. Got given a tree for Mothers Day . It's planted in my garden now . I was thinking about seeing what happened this year fruit wise and planned to cut back and shape after fruiting Good idea or not Any advice welcome

[shokkyy]

I think it's quite important to cut back the leader to encourage side branches in the right place while the tree is still quite young. I bought a young tree, can't remember how old but I don't think more than a couple of years, which had been started into an espalier, and if you cut the leader when it was much older than that I think you might struggle to get the shape right. According to my Hessayon book you can buy a 2 or 3 year old part-trained tree or start from scratch with a maiden tree.

[Ivor Backache]

Two considerations: First- What is the rootstock? That will determine the size of the mature tree. You may have been given a dwarf rootstock in which case there may be no need to train. Second-How old is the tree?
A maiden tree is basically a single stem, whilst a 2 yr old will have lateral branches. I don't think a cherry tree needs much pruning. So to train it put up a frame of two vertical posts with a horizontal support to tie the branches to get the desired shape.

[mumofstig]

Some helpful diagrams here
http://www.chepstowgardencentre.co.uk/algemeen/163/sub/164/How-to-Train-a-Fruit-Tree.html

fan training starts half way down the page.

[devon]

I would say that the tree is 2-3 years old.  The tree i choose looked like it would shape into a fan eg well spaced branches etc .The info link was really useful and it appears I got a good shaped tree. Thank you for all your advice

[RichardA]

you may know this but do not prune any stone fruit tree eg Cherry or plum until summer - May June is recommended to avoid silver leaf virus that is around in winter months.
I have pruned plums to fans and cherries should be similar so should not be difficult, follow directions and go steady -- you do not have to achieve final product in one season.
R