Early this year I bought a couple of containerised minarette apple plants -
Queen Cox and Ambassy/Winter Gem - and they are doing well planted in two 60
cm square, 15 cm high terra cotta coloured wooden raised beds in a bark
covered part of my front garden. The beds are "mulched" with pea gravel -
looks quite effective.

The garden centre gave me a booklet entitled "Fruit Growers Handbook" which
tells when and how to prune. However, althought the booklet shows diagrams
of minarettes and details the plants' central leaders, laterals and
sub-laterals, its instructions tell one to cut laterals to three leaves,
about 4 inches and sub-laterals to one leaf above a basal cluster.

My question is, "What is a basal cluster?" for the booklet does not say.

Regards

Geoff