reread your own post!!!

you say its spindly ...

and then you are afraid to cut it.. or it will lose its growth ...

but that growth will only make it more spindly ...

so you are boxed in a corner... cant prune.. but cant stand it ....

its hard to tell you what to do withour a picture ... but if you have more than one spindle... cut one.. to about one foot .... do another in fall ...

but its speculation without the pic

ken

Here you go.

I meant that, if I I prune it now, I will by definition be cutting off the ends of the branches. Where the growth is. There is none along the branches themselves, only at the end.

I do see some buds along the naked branches but they seem burned or, more likely, frozen. Winter was very bitter.

{{gwi:256032}}

My new one is just late in putting out leaves here in SE MI. I'd give it a little more time where you are, based on my experience with a different one for 25 years where we used to live. But Ken knows more about plants than I do, so follow his advice!

Anne

Chris,
I remember your original post.
You have Grace, a smoke tree hybrid.
It looks horrible.
You have a choice.
If you can stand it, let it try to grow in and it might put out more branches in the next 3-4 weeks.
Don't cut it at all until next March.
Next March, before it leafs out, cut each branch totally down and only leave about 2-3 inches of branch.
Leave the frame intact.
The tree will all regrow every single branch and the foliage will be spectacular.
It will look funny when you cut all of the branches so drastically, NOT the FRAME, just the branches, but if you don't cut them all the way down, it will look worse and become more spindly.
With this bush/tree, you must coppice it, really cut all of the brances back to the frame for the tree to regrow properly.
Wear gloves, it is a member of the sumac family and will leak a foul smelling liquid when you cut it, smells exactly like turpentine.
I would leave it alone til next March and then cut it back.
Trust me, if you do, you will be pleased at how it grows in.
In your zone, you may have to cut it back at least every other year for a couple more years til it ages a little bit, by the way, "Grace" will get 20 feet tall.
What ever you do, for Gods sake, don't cut the top of it. The main trunk branch. Leave that alone, only the branches.
Good Luck!

Thanks
I will cut the shrub/tree back next Spring. With my surgery this year, pruning just wasn't on my horizon and I guess I was hoping for the best.

Interestingly, some people have commented favourably about the look of this poor thing!

Chris,
It is the gorgeous color of the leaves.
I would wait til next spring also.
Wait til she grows in from next spring, you won't believe the gorgeous red and burgundy color.
Hope your ok after surgery.
Post back next year with a pic of how she grew in, I'm curious.
Good Luck.