It causes the roots to be in motion too much and not be able to properly get a hold on the soil so that the tree can develop normally. Before you stake a tree, you should be completely sure that it needs it. If you constrict the movement and growth of a tree that doesn t need to be tethered down, you could harm it beyond repair. Pruning is the removal of dead or unneeded branches to encourage the growth of flowers. Usually a tree will end up devoting energy to branches that don t need it, while neglecting branches which are bearing more fruit. If you remove the branches that are taking all the nutrients, you will begin to see a flourish in the other ones. Through tying down branches or propping them up from the ground, one can direct the growth of the tree to take whatever shape they want. This theory is usually used in the early days of the tree to encourage it to develop fully. If you direct the tree and get it started off on the right foot, you ll save yourself a lot of pruning time later. More fruit trees die in their beginning years due to poor care habits than any disease or pestilence. Therefore it is vital that you understand how to care for trees in a way that will ensure their immediate success as well as future good health. During the first stages of the tree s life, the roots, trunk, and branches have not yet fully developed to a self supporting strength. Dwarf trees are ideal if you only have a limited amount of open space in your yard. They take up as little as only as eight-foot diameter plot of land. Although the dwarf fruit trees are smaller than the others, their fruit is just the same size and the shortness makes them easier to prune and harvest. If you ve had previous experiences with planting and maintaining trees, that is an added reason why you would be perfect for maintaining an orchard. It might seem like an overwhelming thing to undertake, but it is actually fairly simple. All it takes is some commitment. If you ve never grown a tree on your property, you might not want to make the time and money investment of buying lots of trees.