"cdorling" wrote in message
...

I ordered a 1 year bare rooted maiden plum, which arrived yesterday, and
which I intended to grow as a fan. Once opened though, it's more like a
typical part trained tree, with quite a thick central stem as well as
various branches.

I've read that it's best to start formative training with a 1 year old.
With this one, it looks like I'll have to (in Spring) prune the thicker
central leading shoot out, as well as various others side branches,
leaving 2 that are about 40cm above the soil line, and tying them to
canes to make the Y shape.

I'm not a novice, so it all sounds doable. But I wondered if anyone had
any thoughts on why 2 year old + maidens/trees are said not to be
suitable.

It was probably once said by some complete prat who really didn't know what
he was talking about but since he was well known and published, everyone
else has been copying him ever since. I've found that a hell of a lot of
garden 'knowledge' is a load of myth and is probably just oft repeated old
men's tales. Ignore most of it I say and just do what you know you can do,
or think you can do, or can get away with.

If worse somes to worse, all you've done is lose a season or 2 and in most
cases, you learn something valuable.