In the spring of 96, finally the tree got its own training box. It was really difficult to separate the root systems after two growth seasons together. In addition many roots had to be shortened with a saw to fit the plant in the new box.

During 96 and 97, I wired a few branches but otherwise the tree grew relatively freely. Each spring, before growth started, I removed the large terminal buds in order to encourage the development of small twigs from the side buds.