Stella Cherry Tree

[Ken the Chef]

My fan trained Stella is rampant at the moment. It is puting out very long side shoots in all the wrong places that I do not want.
I know I can trim these back to 5 leaves during the summer, but not sure WHEN best to do so.
At least I have a good few fruits this yaer; last year I was left with 5 after all the other fruits dropped.
Any advise on the pruning please!!!!!

[FB.]

Early in the season, if I note shoots sprouting where I don't want them, I tend to "nip them in the bud" - pinch them out with my fingers before they get going. This redirects energy somewhere else and I'll keep pinching-out shoots which I don't want.

If it is massively too vigorous, then I would cut back the new shoots to about three new leaves now, and be prepared to do it later this year too.

I would initially be concerned WHY the tree is getting out of control - and to determine whether you'll be fighting a losing battle to keep it as compact as you'd like.

If the growth is vigorous, you've either been feeding and water too much, or you have a rootstock which is too vigorous for your soil (is your soil deep and fertile?).
Have you been feeding it heavily in recent years?
Do you know which rootstock? (or was it a "discount" "clearance" tree which didn't state the rootstock?)

[FB.]

....oh and a picture would be helpful, and a brief summary of how you want it to shape-up as it matures.

[orangepippin]

Did you buy the tree already fan-trained? If so it is probably on the semi-vigorous Colt rootstock. How old is the tree (or how long have you had it)? Young cherry trees do grow at an amazing rate (a new bud can become a 3ft branch in a few months) but they do eventually settle down once they start fruiting. However as FB says, the key issue is whether the tree / rootstock wants to be bigger than the space you have available, and pruning cherry trees to keep the size down is usually a bad idea.

[Ken the Chef]

I purchased it as a two year old with three stems on Gisela root stock.
I have now cut back all the unwanted side shoots to 5 leaves.
I am trying to train it on a 12ft wide by 6 tall. There are one or two gaps in the fan that I can fill as and when side shoot appear.