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Mon, May 14, 12 at 18:02
| I transplanted the above tree in late fall of 2011. Although it did loose a lot of leaves I managed to keep it hanging on until the freeze hit and the whole backyard dropped its leaves. He's the deal. Came back strong this spring from the top of the tree down. I have 2-3 feet of bare trunk from the 'Y' in the trunk before it leafs/branches out. Is there any way to encourage new growth in that bare area? The tree looks top heavy. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by formandfoliage 9b (Sunset zone 15) (My Page) on Tue, May 15, 12 at 10:04
| Not sure how big your tree is (you could post a photo) but these can look ungainly when they are small. Two-three feet of bare trunk won't be a problem when the tree is bigger. You can do some reduction cuts to make the tree look less top heavy if you feel you must do something, but I would probably leave it alone and let it be a tree. If you cut too heavily you will produce growth in all of the wrong places and redbuds often don't have the strongest architecture as it is. Don't fertilize it and don't give it too much water (both encourage fast growth with weaker tissue). Be patient - that is one of the virtues of growing trees, they teach patience. |
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- Posted by cheeseburger (My Page) on Tue, May 15, 12 at 19:05
| formandfoliage guru: Thanks for the thoughts, I'll take your advice about trees and patience. Come to think of it, I should apply that to other areas of my life where I have been trying to make thing happen rather than just letting events unfold peacefully. |
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- Posted by toronado3800 Z6 St. Louis (My Page) on Wed, May 16, 12 at 0:13
| Around here Redbuds aren't the most uniform growing of trees. That is part of their charm. Enjoy them. |
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- Posted by formandfoliage 9b (Sunset zone 15) (My Page) on Wed, May 16, 12 at 17:48
| You are welcome. Trees all have their own 'personalities' and sometimes that means each genus, sometimes huge variety among species/named varieties and sometimes, especially when seed-grown, among individuals. Redbuds, as toronado says, are often not particularly uniform. But that makes them interesting and charming. See, you come for garden advice and you get life philosophy! |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Thu, May 17, 12 at 8:07
| it sounds like you want a low ground hugging shrub.. and this is a tree.. which develops a bare trunk as it climbs to the sky ... i dont understand that dichotomy .. need a pic to go much further .. ken |
Here is a link that might be useful: how to post pix
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