Thanks for watching! I’m certainly not an expert - mostly just learning as I go and sharing it. I’m glad you found it helpful!

Once you cut a branch, it doesn’t regrow from the cut, it can only grow from another bud. Same for the end of the whip. Thus, for the tree (whip) to gain height, a near vertical branch needs to be selected as the leader. You trim it back so the tree will add strength (diameter) and branch out more. I need deer resistance too; pruning may not help much there, aside from getting the branches higher to keep more fruit out of reach. Strong branches are needed for fruit, and pruning definitely helps there. Thats a big reason for cutting them back - so they don’t get too long and heavy for the structure of the tree. It takes several years to get them to where they fruit.

Yes! When they were planted last spring they were just whips - a vertical stem. All the branches I pruned grew last season and all had leaves on them. Still too early for leaves yet this year in my area, but the buds are growing!