Cherries are a bit different from some other fruit tree species as regards the method of pruning. To understand why, we need to understand how they grow. Cherries have a habit of producing a large length of unproductive (vegetative) area along the branch. This can leave wasted real estate in a tree between the fruiting bud clusters. Some orchardists will compact the fruiting area by pruning, leaving fruiting bud systems closer to each other. I feel the jury is out regarding this practice, since a plant must not only produce offspring, it needs to construct architectural tissue and leaves to be healthy. That said, it is worth investigating.
