Fall pruning

[Gross144]

Hey all. Question. I have 4 crabs from northern whitetail and all doing great. Was planning on planting in Spring but Covid made me change my plans.

Now thinking of transporting to southern zone new york and plant in the ground October 1. Question is since they all put on about 2 feet of growth can i prune them back on top to make them more manageable. Have them in root trapper bags now. Plan on transporting them inside my truck lying on their sides. This way they dont get windblown and lose all of their leaves.
Any advice would be Appreciated. Need to move them as i have nowhere to overwinter them here on Long Island for a spring planting.

 

[Chainsaw]

Can the trees go in the back of the truck, be wetted down and covered with a tarp? Then you wouldn’t need to trim and you would have the option of trimming in the late winter to use as scions if you wanted.

It is said not to trim in the fall as it encourages new growth when you really want the tree to slow itself down. And I do not have experience in fall trimming so I’d probably not do it. The tree will have enough to do to get its roots setup by winter.

 

[Gross144]

Thanks