I wish to espalier an advanced specimen of pear. It seemed to have one usable branch for the first level of what could be - in theory, a first horizontal cordon. It misses a branch on the opposite side.
As I understand it, to promote the growth of buds, I would need to prune the leader where I wish to see a second branch and a new leader in the next growing season. I have read that the leader will almost always take over the tree's resources and - unless pruned, the tree will not branch suitably for an espalier. The illustration shows it as option B.
Despite this information, I wonder if the tree might still push out the missing branch on the first level - opposite the existing branch - if trimmed to the second level. The illustration shows it as option A.
I marked the two options in the picture below as A and B. I am attempting to start an espalier for a modified U shape, but the cuts would probably be the same for a horizontal cordon. The reason for considering option A is to take a shortcut to start branching to the next level.
If I trim the leader to the second level - option A, will it prevent me from achieving the espalier shape on the picture?
