View Single Post
  #3   Report Post  
Old 22-07-2009, 05:24 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Sacha[_4_] Sacha[_4_] is offline
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Apr 2009
Posts: 7,762
Default Pruning a young tree

On 2009-07-22 10:31:45 +0100, Rob said:

I bought a cherry tree (not the fruit kind) in a supermarket a few
months ago, and plonked it in my small yard against a fence by lifting
a couple of the block paving stones. It's not exactly shaded, but only
gets about three hours of direct sun a day.

It seems to have taken fine, with lots of leaves on the two 'side'
branches. The problem is the central branch which seems to have gone
out of control. It's just keeps reaching for the sky, and has probably
grown 4 inches in the past week. There's lots of little branch and leaf
activity, but it's all hanging off a very spindly centre branch. I've
supported this centre branch by tying it to a bamboo cane, but now it's
gone beyond the 5 foot cane on its spindly ascent, and is lops over to
one side. The other branches are about 2 feet below the the tip, on a
tree that's about 6 feet high.

I looked on the RHS web site, and they seem to say 'don't prune the
centre branch'.

Any ideas please? I am so obviously not a gardener, but i've quite
taken to this creation of mine.

Thanks, Rob


Is it a weeping cherry? What name is on the label? If there isn't
one, ask the gc you bought it from if they know. If you do have the
name, someone here may be able to give you some help.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon