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Green Giant Thuja pruning

13 years ago

I planted 60 GG last year and just noticed there are 3 leaders on each plant . Should I cut 2 of the leaders to have one main leader? Not sure what to do,any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

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Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
hi

when last year ... spring or fall??

how big are they???

how much did they grow ...

and WELCOME!!!!

i would be concerned about removing 2/3 of the canopy of a recent transplant ... if you remove much of the food-making greenery .. where will it get the power to grow the roots ???

on the other hand .... you could take one .. and leave the other ... make it a two or three year project ...

or, you could shorten two by half ... and remove one in fall ... giving one the leg up on dominance ...

or .... since you have 60 of them.. you could do a few of each theory... and experiment ...

i guess there are many options.. and await the thoughts of others ... one thing for sure.. i would not do it all at once ...

well???? what do the rest of you think???

i reserve the right to change my mind depending on size ... the smaller the plant.. the more radical i might tend to be ...

fill in the facts please

ken
gardener365
13 years ago
Show us some photos please.

Dax
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A0221
Original Author
13 years ago
Ken
thank you for your post.My GG's were planted last fall .They are mostly 5ft to 6 ft. It has been a rough winter and the tips are golden and there are some brown spots.Of the 79 planted I may loose 5.
I will post a picture in the am.I just gave them a shot of 10 10 10
Many thanks
gardener365
13 years ago
Here's his photo:

'Green Giant' with multiple leaders:
{{gwi:659182}}

Looks to me like you need to look even further to see where these leaders are "branching" from" - then select the one that is closest to the ground or isn't the sort of new leader that arose" at an 'awkward crotch' on the tree. ;-) You don't want to choose a leader that shot straight up from a branch 6" away from the trunk, i.e., cause that be no good! :D

You're going to have to choose only one leader... that's the story. And before you chop, look at everything carefully... you might find a dense branch to use instead of weaker branch with less-foliage. Use your common sense... evaluate for strength, "vigor."

Dax
A0221
Original Author
13 years ago
Dax
Thanks again. So if there are 3 whips I would need to cut the 2 less vigor whips on the v towards the ground. Since I planted the trees last fall, should I wait.I wouldn't want to stunt the growth.
again ,many thanks
Mike

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