Attila

Fred,

There is not much disadvantage in fast growth since at the early stages what you are working on is the root base and the basic trunk shape. You cut back about twice a year to encourage very low branch development and then do consecutive trunk chops and pick new leaders. Going through this process every year eventually leads to the trunk-shape and taper you want.

The lenght of the internodes becomes an issue when you work on secondary and tertiary branching. At that point, you work with the tree already planted in the pot.

As to spacing, I usually space the pencil-sized ones about one foot apart. As they get thicker, it grows to a foot and a half. I don't have as much space as I would like to have, so I think this is still to dense, but the main thing I am concerned about is to check each tree that it has enough light for healthy growth. For instance, if I notice that a pine seedling is blocked by a large branch of another tree, I would trim that branch to let more light onto the seedling.

Attila