Hi,
Last year I had to cut down our Red Bud tree that was sick and dying. Several shoots grew out of the trunk. Folks here at the site gave me advice on how to grow a new tree from one of the shoots - thank you again!

The shoot I chose did very well over winter, and grew A LOT over spring and summer turning into a little tree.

I believe it needs trimming. I need advice please on how to do it: what's the best time, how much should I trim, etc.

I've attached a few pictures.

Thank you very much,
Sasha

You can prune them anytime. Pruned now will pretty much stop growth for this year. If you wait til spring , new growth will continue from the cut points. Prune off anything you don't want and keep what you do want.

I wouldn't prune it at all.

DaisyI said:I wouldn't prune it at all.

The side branches grow pretty low to the ground. I wonder if the tree ends up looking more like a shrub if I don't trim them at some point..?

You can prune the trunk up until you are satisfied with its height any time. I thought you were pruning the canopy changing the overall shape of the tree. In photo #2, it looks like you have 3 or 4 well spaced branches growing up plus some lower growing sideways branches and brush. I would prune up to those 3 or 4 branches. Hopefully they are high enough to give you the trunk you want. If not, wait a couple years to see what grows. Trees have a mind of their own sometimes and those might be the main structure branches this tree plants to produce.

Hi,
So my little sapling became kind of wild, and I did prune it. I basically thinned it out removing crisscross branches, as well as a couple of brunches that grew at weird angles (for example, straight down.) I also removed another shoot that was growing pretty fast.

I don't know if the trunk will ever get tall enough: it splits pretty low to the ground, nothing I can do about it. I'm just hoping that I'll be able to get the sapling to resemble a tree, albeit a small one, in shape.

Right now it looks like a champagne flute. May I trim those long branches to give the crown a tidier shape, or should I wait till after the tree blooms next spring?

Thank you very much!

DaisyI said:You can prune the trunk up until you are satisfied with its height any time. I thought you were pruning the canopy changing the overall shape of the tree. In photo #2, it looks like you have 3 or 4 well spaced branches growing up plus some lower growing sideways branches and brush. I would prune up to those 3 or 4 branches. Hopefully they are high enough to give you the trunk you want. If not, wait a couple years to see what grows. Trees have a mind of their own sometimes and those might be the main structure branches this tree plants to produce.

Hi Daisy, I've just posted to the thread, could you take a look when you get a chance please?
Thank you,
Sasha

I think you should leave it alone. I looks like a Redbud tree but if you start lopping too much out, it won't.

DaisyI said:I think you should leave it alone. I looks like a Redbud tree but if you start lopping too much out, it won't.

Thank you, will do.