Should I chop it off?

dourbest

10 years ago

These are 1 year old seedlings that I think are getting too leggy (18 inches from soil line)...see other pic...

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (10)

dourbest
Original Author
10 years ago
These are also 1 year old seedlings (12 inches) but they already have grown out branches. As a beginner I think that is what I would want right? Chop off the top to encourage more branches? Or should I just let them do their own thing?
dourbest
Original Author
10 years ago
Here are two other 7 inch 1 yr old seedlings that have also branched out. Also, I have been feeding them the miracle gro bloom buster diluted to more than 50 percent. Is that okay for them?

Sorry, last question. I have a very skinny cutting. Do cuttings stay the same width as when they were cut or do they eventually get thicker? I have had this for a few years now and it still looks the same, just a little taller (not in picture).

Thank you.
Related Discussions
what is this tree and what the heck is growing out of the top???
Q
Comments (1)
A species of Cordyline. The thing growing out of it is the flower stem; you can keep it. You will probably find that the stem will branch after the flowering is finished. Old plants become much-branched, as in the pic below Resin Here is a link that might be useful:
...See More
Ash Tree Help - Re-grow or Ground Stump
Q
Comments (4)
your logic is failing. .in that you think EAB wont come back and kill it again .. exactly why do you want an ash.. in EAB country ??? and of course its growing like the weed it is.. it has an UNDISTURBED root mass for a mature tree ...' snip off the sprouts.. drip 100% round up on the cut.. and keep doing it.. until the root mass dies.. and while you are doing this.. go buy anything but an ash ... [except anything that claims to be fast growing ] crikey man .. lol ken
...See More
What can I do?
Q
Comments (4)
that is still a tiny plant, a 'whip' in the trade. you must let it get bigger. no, don't cut off the top. if it is a dissectum, that is a naturally weeping form(99% of dissectums are weeping)so you can't change that habit. do you know its name? you might want to post more photos- close ups of leaves- on the Trees or jap maples forums.once you have it i.d.'d you can google photos of a more mature specimen and see if you like it or not. but good heavens, don't throw it away. find some spot for it. mindy
...See More
indoor orange tree growth
Q
Comments (3)
Your tree is grafted (that is, the roots are originally a different plant to the branches above). It's done to give a good quality fruiting tree a good root system (they don't always naturally occur on the same plant). What's happened is the rootstock has produced it's own branches. You need to cut those off or you could lose the graft which would give you the best fruit. This doesn't always happen, but it's not unusual.
...See More
dourbest
Original Author
10 years ago
This is one of the plumerias in the first picture. Over the winter it developed a black tip and is now forming new branches. That is, I hope they are new branches. This plumeria got me thinking, if it is going to take 3 years to bloom from a seed to create more branches, should I just take a short cut and chop the top off now? Please let me know your opinion or pros and cons. Thank you.

There are 3 plumerias that are 18 inches tall that I was planning on cutting.
Loveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia
10 years ago
Hi!!!

I was just looking thru the forum and wanted to try and help you...

Hopefully , others will add their two cents too! ;-)

Personally, I would not chop off the tops to encourage branching unless it was a natural occurrence .. ( deer, wind, etc) seedlings do seem to take their time to bloom, but if you cut the mature stem to encourage branching, you are only setting the tree back a year or so to have mature branches to finally send out Inflos. Let the tree naturally form branching by letting it grow and mature and finally bloom. This is the best way in my opinion and I would guess to say others would say to wait as well...

I see the one stem forming new branches.. This is good, but I wouldn't cut all of those beautiful tops of your trees. Let them Grow as Mother Nature wants them ...let her decide or if you get tired of them being to tall and lanky, then make that decision. Not now while they are small and healthy...

Hope this helps.

I would also increase to full strength in the fertilizer according to the bottle during the summer months. This is when they need the fertilizer to continue to grow and hopefully produce Inflos this year or next. What we do now does have an impact on what happens next year.

They will get thicker as they mature ...

Good luck and they look wonderful!!!

Great job!!!

Laura
Kimo
10 years ago
I agree with Laura, leave it. Some plumie varieties are known for being leggy while others are more compact. Seedlings tend to branch out early on, but some do not. Even if you chopped the top off there is not guarantee it would branch out (again might be a leggy grower). Ive had some plumies that I pruned a branch and only one new branch replace it, so it looked like an ugly center cut. Usually you will be more likely to get an inflo from a single tip vs multi tipped cutting/plant. So as Laura stated just leave it be and have patience.

Good Luck
dourbest
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you for your advice. I will leave them alone and play with some other plants. Have a nice week!
pcput
10 years ago
Here's my tall one. It's over 4' tall now and no inflo in sight. I've threaten to cut if it doesn't bloom but keep hoping. Maybe this year! Peg
mksmth zone 7a Tulsa Oklahoma
10 years ago
Peg

Maybe yours thinks its a coconut palm, lol.

Im in the same boat. I have a few seedlings myself that are single tip. They are almost 2 feet tall and just now a year old. At this rate they could be 6-8 feet tall before they flower. I think Ill just see how tall they do get before flowering. Might be a record!

Mike
pcput
10 years ago
I think your right Mike "LOL"
I hope I get the coconuts soon.
Wish I knew how to down graft :(
Peg
elucas101
10 years ago
Don't discount the single tip seedlings - I was tending to favor my seedlings that were multi branched...I ALMOST THREW AWAY one of my single tip seedlings thinking it was nothing special and whadda ya know - IT BLOOMED!!! I will never look at the single tips the same way again.

Dourbest - I think your seedlings look good, I wouldn't cut them either. Give them as much sun as you can to limit legginess to genetics and not due to reaching for more light - I have seedlings that are not even 5 inches tall and they get a LOT of sun.