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Trim back white pine leaders?

16 years ago

Hello all. I'd like to wish everyone a safe and happpy new year!

I have three white pine saplings, about 4 feet tall in our backyard and they are growing very well. They were planted in our yard from container stock in September of 2006. Last year the leaders grew about 12 to 18 inches in height giving them a "sparse" look. Side branches grew but not in proportion to the leaders. There are lots of buds all over the trees so this spring should be another good growing year.

Question: Normally living single leaders on conifers are best left alone but I'm wondering if they should be cut back to avoid having a very tall central leader with smaller, thin side branches, like they do for christmas tree production?

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

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Comments (5)

pineresin
16 years ago
I'd not cut them. The gaps will fill in as the side branches get larger over the years. An open top is normal, and natural, in young pines.

Resin
basic
16 years ago
I'll second Resin's advice. Young white pines are especially thin/open, even more so than red pines.
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sounds like a lot of worry for something that may never happen .... especially prophylactic chemical use ... in my z5 MI .... near the OH border ... white pine grow 3 to 5 feet per year,once established .... re-leader extremely quickly ... and are basically weed trees ... in the sense that you cant beat them back with a stick ... once they get going .... some of your presumptions MIGHT be wrong ... the fact that it is in the wide open.. suggests not just your conclusion.. but the conclusion that the odds of any given bug finding it low ... and that you will be able to ladder up the thing for 10 years ... i would bet on MAYBE 3 years ... since you wont be putting a ladder up against fresh weak growth .... so.. i would wonder if all your worry is worth it .... also .. given their growth rate.. i hope you planted it a good 20 to 30 feet from your house .. they are not strong wooded ... and subject to shedding large parts in 20 or 30 years.. in harsh weather.. like winter ice storms and wind .... good luck ken
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conifers
16 years ago
You'd be much smarter to wait never pruning.

Dax
noki
16 years ago
If you are expecting them to look like the cut X-mas trees like they sell, they do shear them or trim them to give them that shape. It is better to let the tree grow naturally thou.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
16 years ago
let the tree.. be the tree ...

what you are seeing.. is that your potted plant was probably previously shaped ... and now it is outgrowing that shaping ...

once fully established.. they are going to explode in all directions ....

i suspect that these pinus strobus will start growing ... 3 to 5 feet in every direction very quickly ...

and will never look like a xmas tree ...

if you insist on shaping.. which you will only be able to do while it is short enough for your reach ... it is done in spring.. during bud elongation ...

cutting them now... will kill that leader ... and a side branch will have to start a new leader.. and then you will not be happy ...

i hope you understand that you have four future telephone poles .... they will easily be 35 footers within a decade [min 3 ft per year for 10 years plus the 4 you have right now ... give or take the extra foot] ...

you see them everywhere here in MI .. planted in perfect groves lining out roads all over the upper and lower peninsula.. planted by the CCC in the 30's .... they are not really landscape plants in my opinion .... unless you have a sizable property ....

i just paid a heck of a lot of money as the prior owner planted 5 of them too close to the house.... they are soft wooded.. and prone to severe damage from ice and wind storms ....

properly planted in a large landscape .... they are wonderful trees ....

good luck and happy new year ... ken

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