Some of my cuttings rooted this winter are single stems 18" to 24" tall now.
Since I want it to bush out is it ok to pinch the tip now or is it always best to not clip a 1st yr plant ? They are all in 5 gal sub-irrigated buckets and seem to be pretty strong.
Thanks for any help.
Best ,
Kerry
Zone 5 NH

If these were mine, I will surely pinch the top at 24" height.
I had a number of plants that I had not pinched at the top and they grew like a date palm trees branching high above the ground. Then I had to air-layer the top branched portion to make it a not-so-high branched plant but with branches at manageable height and less prone to falling by winds. Now I regularly pinch close to 2' (or less) height.
If you want a bush type then you have to cut it close to the ground level.

I pinched my first year fig, because I read somewhere that you should pinch after 4 or 5 leaves, so I did.  It branched out nicely.  This year, all those branches grew, and when I saw 4 or 5 leaves, I pinched again.... and again.... and now, my little 2 year old fig has 20 figs and many new branches growing.  I don't see an end to this!  Looking forward to late August or Sept to enjoy some figs!

Suzi

Thanks for the question Kerry.  I was just getting ready to ask the same thing.

And thank you for the answers Ottawan and Suzi.

I have dozens of in ground started first year cuttings that are just passing or approaching the two foot mark and the protective chicken wire cage they are in (to protect them from digging dogs, cats, and armidillos) is about two feet high.  I I think I will pinch them off as they come through the top of the cage to encourage a stouter tree and keep them from ending up tangled in the chicken wire at the end of the season.

Best wishes to all.

John
North Georgia Piedmont
Zone 7b

Everyone ,
Thanks for the replies on this .
I thought I had read in older posts that it was best to not pinch 1st yr cuttings because it might weaken them in some way. Must have misunderstood what I read . Glad I asked , I'll go ahead and pinch those that are big enough and perhaps cut a few of the largest back enough to try Ray Given's green wood propagation technique.
Best ,
Kerry
Zone 5 NH

(bump for those who missed reading this thread)

pinch whenever you feel that the top of the tree needs to branch. however, i wouldn't pinch in first year. i would let it grow more and will start pinching in second year. reason being, pinching is done more for fig production. this will cause branching also. if you want tree that has main trunk at 24".. sure. but i like mine to grow freely for at least a year and reach about 3-4 feet before pinch and getting the figs. 

Also, I'd wait till it's growing to pinch or take a cutting because then you'll have more shoot development on the stem.