yes.. its pruning time...

personally ... i would want a tree.. not a bush.. so i would remove.. FOR NOW ... guessing without a yard stick there.. EVERYTHING below 3 feet ... that the low left big branch.. and maybe a few smaller twigs ... all trees in my yard.. i can walk under ... but it sometimes takes.. many years to get to that point ...

and then post a pic.. and show us how it looks.. then we can decide where to go further ...

and it would really help.. if you stepped back.. and got us a shot of the whole ... perhaps in the evening.. so the sun isnt washing out some of the pic ...

tracing up the trunk.. on this pic.. on the left of the trunk.. the next two branches near the top of the curve .. one of them would go in my garden.. but i am not sure on this pic ...

and then.. above those 2.. i see two potential leaders ... and we would have to pick one of those ...

after all this.. get rid of the stake.. it isnt doing anything...

and get it clear in your head ... RBs... do their own thing... we can try to inflict our will on them ... but that doesnt always work ...

properly pruning a tree.. will not hurt it.. and in fact.. will make it stronger ... as the goal is to better the structure of the plant ...

do you have any clue.. how to properly prune???

finally... at 3 years in the ground.. your tree is NOT leaning ... it is.. what it is... you are not going to pull it back ...

yes.. you could have picked a better one... but that water under the bridge.. this one will be unique.. and yours... accept it for what it is.. just like if you have a teenager in the house.. lol ...

more pix

ken

Hey Ken,

Thanks for the response! I haven't pruned this tree save that one branch last year and some dead stuff, because I thought it ought to become established better before doing anything. If you can see all the old pruned branches, that wasn't me. You ask if I know how to prune... not by any of your standards, no. I've never been trained by anyone who knows a thing or two about trees - and that's why I'm here!
The lowest branch is about 2.5-3' from the ground. The next (same side) somewhere around 4'. Obviously, they're too low, but there's a whole lot of foliage coming from those two branches and I'm hesitant to take them off. From what I understand I should have done it after bloom, but I really had no idea they would become that heavy. Silly me, yes. Please forgive my ineptitude.
The stake was put in because the tree was side heavy and leaning even further under its own weight last year. I wanted to remove the lower branches, but hubby wouldn't let me. The stake is still supporting this weight (I tried earlier), obviously because the tree hasn't grown too much on the other side and the heavy side has just gotten heavier... I need to alleviate that weight, I assume.

So, yes, please forgive this newb. I want to learn and understand, I really do.. it's just something I never make time for and, well, learning off the web is dubious at best. I'm attaching a few pictures below. Sorry I only attached the one last time. It was just because it only lets you do one and I had kids to tend to. :/

Left side view. The lowest of those branches is hidden by foliage.

Full right side view. Oh, and I understand that these trees will do their own thing. My aim is for it to, umm, stand on its own and perhaps not drag on the ground. Obviously, I would like a healthy tree, as well. I'm going to get a quote from our local tree service, but the last quote I got (for a larger tree) was quite a bit of cash. Not something I have much of right now!

Last one for now. Looking up into the canopy from the left side.

You might find this thread interesting... I did.

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/trees/msg0507231518294.html?20769

Thanks, MG! That certainly alleviates my fears somewhat about removing so much tree.

its a full sun tree ...

its growing .. producing more leaves.. on the side AWAY from the dark shade behind ... it doesnt matter what side the sun come from.. its dark behind ...

when you have hubby convinced.. we can go from there.. but i dont want to waste a lot of time typing.. and then you announce.. its a no go ...

its well established ... its time for some structural pruning .. and removal of the stake.. which i am not sure is accomplishing much ...

no matter what it ends up looking like after pruning.. when the trunk if a foot thick... to wont matter ... do understand.. with tree pruning ... its all about the decades to come ... not the immediate result ...

some of my best pruning.. is when a tree is nudie... so that you can see the structure ...

so... being a newb and all ... right after leaf fall.. might be the best time...

asking the rest of you tree nuts ..... IS THERE ANY REASON NOT TO PRUNE THIS IN FALL.. DORMANT???

ken

Thank you for the suggestions, all.

I went ahead and removed the two lowest branches a few weeks ago. Last week I decided to remove one more. The tree looks much better and some of that weight is off the one side. The arborist came by after that and felt it would do with some more time with the post. He also suggested more branches from the maple above be removed. Some I can reach, so I'll go ahead and do that. Sometimes people can get a little condescending toward newbs. We've all got to start somewhere! Thanks to all who have been so willing to help me. I truly appreciate it!

Would love to see a follow-up picture. I'm sure it looks great!