In article ,
Joe Shmoe wrote:

Hi all, so the general concensus is that I can leave the long branches
and the tree shouldn't suffer ?

Or prune them, and it won't suffer either :-) Your choice.

I prefer how it looks currently, and didn't want to prune it, but
several people who have seen the tree have commented and said it should
be pruned back to a more othodox shape.

You can let nature take its course - oaks are used to that.

The tree is 15m away from the nearest house which, while not ideal,
shouldn't cause me any problems in my lifetime (i hope).

Does anyone know what the growth rate for this tree is? I'm looking
forward to it getting bigger.

Depends on conditions, and how much that conifer reduces the water
and sun it receives. Typically 6-9" a year.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.