One way of dealing with the problem is to wire the lowest branches down.
It's difficult, because maples tend to have rather brittle wood. One
procedure is to cut a notch on the bottom of the crotch where the branch
meets the trunk before applying the wire. Then apply cut paste to the wound
and close the gap by wiring the branch down. Another technique is to wrap
wet rattan or tape tightly around the branch before wiring it. This keeps
the cambium from separating from the heart wood. The main idea is to get
the end of the branch as low as possible, because this to where the viewer's
eye is attracted.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Willem Carstens"
To:
Sent: Friday, February 11, 2005 3:53 AM
Subject: [IBC] Lower branches on Trident Maple.


Hi All

I have a trident maple with a really nicely tapered trunk, however all my
branches are currently
on the top third of the trunk.How do i go about encouraging lower branches
or do i have
to cut all branches off and start from scratch.

Regards
Willem Carstens
Johannesburg,South Africa.

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************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Mike Page++++
************************************************** ******************************
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+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++