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Pruning out freeze damage

17 years ago

I have an English Walnut seedling here in Central Alabama that got hit hard by the late freeze. Although it has (sort of) recovered and is sending out new leaves, they are coming up from the base of the tree and the original main little trunk is sticking up like an angry bare finger pointing at the sky. Do I prune this out now or wait till next dormancy?

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Comment (1)

Dibbit
17 years ago
I would take it out now. Be careful of the new sprouts. Try now to select 4-6 of the stronger looking ones, spaced out if you can - one of these will be your "new" tree - and remove the others, as low down as is possible. Later in the summer, thin to the 2-3 strongest shoots, and then in the spring when growth has started again, select the one that is strongest as the "new" trunk. You may get bottom sprouts for a few years, but just rub them off as soon as you notice them - unless you want a multi-trunked tree?
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Good to hear...Tonite is going to put a lot to the test, but hopefully I can get out of it with a 27F or better... I guess we really don't know until May/June how bad it was. I guess i'll mark this down as something to learn from. This was in the local newspaper today: "At Fruit Acres in La Crescent, Minn., general manager Ralph Yates said the combination of bluffs and air flow along the river creates "a little micro-climate here." "ThatÃ¯Â¿Â½s originally why the orchards were all planted on the bluffs," Yates explained. After years of working with the apples, Yates sees little reason to worry about what might happen. HeÃ¯Â¿Â½s had crops appear lost to frost in the past only to develop into a fine harvest come fall. "People tend to get all worked up and they overreact," Yates said. "ItÃ¯Â¿Â½s something we canÃ¯Â¿Â½t do anything about, so itÃ¯Â¿Â½s better just to wait and see."" La Crosse Tribune
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Comments (4)
I would wait and not prune them yet if it were my trees...there's still several weeks of winter left and you can still see more freeze in your area. (for me my appx. safe date when chance of freeze drops way down is around the second week of March)...yours may not be till April? Once its safe to prune you should do it in small sections so you do not cut off any live wood...dead wood is very easy to tell...its very hard to cut and brown looking...you can use your finger nails or a tiny knife to check for "live wood"...just gently scrape and see if the branch is alive... Others wait till they see new growth and then cut just above it...so they don't have to guess or cut more than necessary. Good luck!! **Edit** Just saw JWW post after I submitted mine...I agree with the comments that was posted :o) This post was edited by puglvr1 on Sat, Feb 8, 14 at 13:19
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or your responses so far. i apologise for posting update photoes so late. My nam doc mai, as you gentleman have previously said has started new growth. I decidede to transplant it from pot to garden soil. here it is how it looks. One problem though is that the pugged branches still look touched from some kind of athracnose. Can you guys be kind to help me deal with that or should i just leave it as new shoots are coming out? any reply is appreciated>
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Comments (1)
I would take the opportunity to prune out the damaged areas and shape to your preferences. Particularly since as you stated it is historically a fast grower.
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