On 10 Jan, 21:06, Michael D wrote:
In October I planted a Norway Maple (Acer Platinoides). *The central
shoot of the tree had already been pruned by the nursery (a reputable
online company). *There are now about 5 shoots growing from the top
(see hehttp://bit.ly/4C28vF). *It shows the 5 shoots and the
remnants of the central shoot. *The part of the tree in the photo is
probably a bit over 4 feet high.

2 questions:

1. *Do I need to do anything to treat the remnants of the central
brunch, to stop it rotting / deteriorating?

2. *There are 5 shoots coming out at the top. *Should I prune a couple
of them out to allow the others room to grow into main branches?

Michael

What on earth did they do that for?????????
Norway Maple is a*big* tree and as such looks better as a specimen if
the central leader is left in - but then you need a park to grow it
in. If you want to rescue it to grow as a large specimen, select one
of those upper branches to become a new leader and severely shorten
the others.
Otherwise it will need continuous attention to keep it compact and
you'll have a 'lollipop tree' or you'll get rid of it now and choose a
suitably sized Acer. It's a lovely genus and you're absolutely spoilt
for choice of wonderful garden plants.

Rod