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Pruning River Birch

12 years ago

I had an 11 ft River Birch planted in October 2010. When do I start pruning it? It has 3 trunks and one is leaning in toward the other two at the top. Is there a way to straighten this so it points outward like the other two trunks do, or should I not be bothered? Also, how far up should I trim off the lower limbs. It's only about 12 feet tall right now and looks very unshapley.

One or two limbs are much longer than the others - like 2 feet longer. Do I cut the long limbs back half-way or all the way to the trunk? If I cut it all the way off it will leave a gap. Overall the tree has a very uneven shape.

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Comments (4)

brandon7 TN_zone7
12 years ago
You can always remove dead, diseased, damaged, or rubbing branches at any time. I would wait until after the tree is fully leafed out (if it's not already) before doing any major pruning. Be sure not to remove more than 1/3 of the tree's foliage. Heading cuts are rarely advisable on trees. Reduction cuts/Drop-crotch pruning can be useful, especially on smaller branches.

Pictures would be very helpful and might lead to more specific and more complete advice.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
w/o a picture.. its near impossible to give you any real good advice ...

i would not stub out a long branch.. to 'match' the others ...

oh crimminey.. there is so much wrong with what you wrote.. that i just dont know wear to begin.. we need a picture or two ...

but i think.. the bottom line.. is that you have some personal expectation of shape.. and frankly.. there is no real 'shape' to any given tree ... you might want to learn to love it in the shape its in.. rather than try to force some preconceived notion upon it ... but again.. without a pic.. that is all speculation ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link
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Molie Since noone had given any repies, I'll offer a bit of info. First, you can prune off dead branches anytime. The reason you state is valid, though a bit confused. You either meant bronze birch borer, or birchleaf miner. But river birch, at least where I live, is less affected by these insects than some other birch species. There is no magic formula as to how much pruning can be done to a tree in a given season. But, there is a general guideline stating that no more than a third of the crown, meaning live branches, should be removed in any one pruning event. Your tree is newish though, and I'd let it have as much live foliage as possible for a few years to help it get going. Also, birch trees really dont typically need any work done to the interior of the crown. You can pretty much just leave them be. If you want to see more of the attractive trunk, you can gradually "raise them up" by removing a few lower branches. Just take your time. It doesn't have to happen all at once. and again, I'd not initiate this practice until the tree has established itself well. Perhaps three or so years down the road, you could begin this raising up process. Hope this helps.........+oM
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A clump river birch is a river birch with multiple trunks. All the trunks should be from the same tree/root-system, but some cheapo nurseries stick single trunk specimens together for quick production. This practice (bundling multiple separate singe-trunk specimens together) frequently causes problems later as the trees grow and start splitting apart.
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I would have called this 5 trunks as I tend to think of leaders as starting part way up a trunk where damage has eliminated the top of the main growth stem. Regardless, often river birch grow as multi-trunked trees. You could cut back to the three healthiest or leave it as is if the trunks and branches aren't too thick and crossing/rubbing, but I think that if you take it to one trunk from 5 you will end up with lots of suckers since you have removed so much of the canopy at once. I think generally that the number of trunks is largely an aesthetic choice for this species. I live next to what used to be a wholesale nursery, and they deliberately grew multi-trunked birches. Where I work there is a bed of several multi-trunked river birch that is lovely, with a broad canopy of dappled shade.
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be nice to know where you are ... clear the trunk to 2 feet.. leaving no stubs ... go sit on your lawn chair for a week or two ... decide if you want more ... no real hurry ... after 2 weeks .... go 2 feet more ... observe for another week.. etc ... take pix after first round.. let us critique ... i would make it a 2 year project.. there really never is a hurry on a plant that can live 35 to 50 years or more ... the oldest .. thickest are at the bottom.. it will get easier as you go up ... buy a TREE SAW ... wet wood is not dry lumber.. it matters.. if you are going with sawzall ... buy a tree blade for that .. google: proper limb removal ... read a few and ask questions.. if you need more guidance ... your biggest problem.. will probably be getting rid of what you cut off ... ken
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sallyreams
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for feedback!! Here are some pics. First the full tree shows an xtra long limb sticking out near top and long ones on bottom right. Also you can see the left trunk and how it bows inward 2/3 the way up.
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Second one shows how one of the main trunks bows inward about 2/3 the way up the tree. The other 2 trunks lean outward.
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Next you see an xtra long limb on bottom right of tree.
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And lastly, there are some strange leaves on the tree, are these of concern?
They appear randomly in various places.
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
man.. thx for the pix.. not anything like i was picturing..

ignore the top ..

prune up a few of the lower scragglers ...

the leaf thing is irrelevant... and totally escaping me right this second. of course.. as soon as i hit send ....

i might even go straight up the middle and remove any interior branches ...

as to the major trunks... they will go.. where they will go.. as the tree grows ... i 'bet' they will start growing away form each other...

ken

ps: it looks telephone poled [planted too deep] .. can you find the trunk/root interface ... kill the grass in a 5 foot circle.. and add a 4 foot ring of mulch.. but not w/in 3 inches of the trunks ...

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