Craig,

Thanks for the response. Mine is nursery grown and fairly small, but with
excellent branch placement...for the first 3. Relatively tall, thin trunk
and long skinny branches. I am contemplating cutting back to the 4th branch
to use it as a new leader. I'd like to wire for additional movement - but
am not sure how well Hemlocks tolerate drastic bending. It is currently in
a very much oversized training pot to allow for growth. It is very health
with new foliage all over. I clipped it back pretty hard last year and it
responded with lots of new growth. I have never tried clipping it back
beyond healthy foliage and don't plan to. Basically, just trying to get
more dense, compact foliage.

Jeff

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Jeff:
I have several that I collected in Maine a couple of years ago. This is a
slow-growing species, so if you want to have it in a pot now you'll have to
resign
yourself to the trunk remaining that diameter in perpetuity.

Chopping as you might do to a deciduous tree is out of the question. In
major
cutbacks you have to take into account what is left behind. Like some other
evergreens, if you don't leave a lot behind there is a tendency towards
dieback.

This is true with pruning too. Don't prune a branch back so there is just a
small
amount of foliage left. Chances are it will die.

With the finer foliage, however, cuttin gback is a good idea to tighten up
the
foliage pads. This is always going to be a feathery tree so keep that in
mind. To
me that is a part of the grace of this species.

I'll post a few pics of my trees on the gallery next week when I get a
chance.

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a Sunset 37

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