Bike. I have not grown this variety of tree but I have planted many others. Other people with precise experience will add more detailed information. If it is a potted tree that is not root bound, pruning may not be needed. If it is a bare root tree I would prune it back to a level that would better match the top to the amount of roots. Good luck, Bill

How did the tree grow? I don't prune back any of my trees (mostly bare root). The biggest negative I sometimes see is a bare area (part of the trunk with no branches). So, while some say it increases your chances of the tree living (equalizing the top with the roots), I haven't had any significant issues without any initial pruning.

In general (and especially at this point a year later), I think the decision of how much (and where) to prune will come down to what shape you want the tree to take.

Hi,

Thank you for your replies.

I attached a picture here. The height of the center trunk is 4 feet (where the red arrow points). The tallest branch is 5'8".

Your tree looks good and will most likely do well without any pruning. I would stake the tree for two years so the wind won't loosen the roots while it is getting established.

Where did you buy the tree? What variety?

Thanks 2010ChampsBCS. So no pruning at all? Even just on the branches?

RedSun, I got it from Raintree nursery in WA, variety is red sun. So you must like it too?

How close is it to those other trees? Any risk of getting shaded and growing lopsided.

I have been thinking. The tree is not very expensive, but I do not want to pay $18 or more to ship just one tree. But I do not need many trees now.

I may go the slow way. I think I'm going to grow some wild Chinese hawthorn, then try to get some scion wood and try to graft it.

The original Chinese hawthorn fruits are very sour. There are new varieties, but I've not tasted them, so I do not know if I like them or not.

So I may ask either Bob or you to send me a few fruits when they are available.

This Big Ball is the same variety Bob has. It is also called Da Mian Qiu. In Chinese, this means Big Soft Ball.... So the fruits must taste soft....

You tree looks fine. Some people top the tree very low, so the branches come out low for easy picking. Your tree branches high, so the tree would grow tall. Just make sure there is room for the tree to grow. The tree can grow large when get old...

Since this tree was planted early of the year, pruning it small now does not help anything. If the photo is very recent, you probably do not need to prune this spring. Hard pruning will only introduce more top growth.

At spring time, make sure to add some root stimulator to help the roots to grow. For the first two years, shape the tree and get the tree grow more roots...

floral_uk, you are right on! We tried to make it more room and picked the best spot for this tree, but you can see there are big trunks to the left. These are Japanese maples and they extend.

RedSun, of course no problem I will send you fruits. But I am not sure if it will be successful.

I don't want the tree to get too high. So Bob how high is your tree now? Does it bear fruits?

Hi RedSun,

I didn't see your latest post when I posted. The photo was taken yesterday. So I guess there is nothing I could do now to make the tree lower. Do you think there will be branches coming out lower than the current branches?

This tree needs full sun to set fruits. Its growth habit is very similar to Jujube, acid or alkaline, poor or rich, clay or sandy. It grows readily in the wild.

In the backyard, it can grow large because of the favorable condition. This tree itself is a excellent landscape tree, just like a crabapple.Give it plenty of room. You can prune hard and let it grow as a fruit tree as opposed to a landscape tree, but that can be some work and the tree may not look good.

Here are some photos of the large trees:
{{gwi:2121370}}
{{gwi:2121371}}
{{gwi:2121372}}
{{gwi:2121373}}

4' branching is acceptable. There won't be lower branches coming out. Young trees can be topped at 3' or lower, but it is too late now.

Again, if you have no room, then just grow it as a fruit tree. Train it as a open center shape. Force the tree grow wide, not tall. When the tree grows large, you'll have to trim old wood and renovate the tree to stay the same size....

Thanks RedSun. Yes I always wanted it to be a fruit tree. The pictures you show are really good looking trees but I don't think my yard can accommodate that.

RedSun, I'd be happy to send you some seeds when (if) it eventually fruits. Mine isn't much bigger than Bike2Work's though, as it spent the first year in a pot, then was planted this past spring/summer.

Keep in mind that you can graft them onto quince (at least that is what mine is on, per Burnt Ridge) and you may be able to find that online (Raintree, I believe).

Commercial fruit trees are planted very dense, pruned heavily, fertilized and sprayed heavily. Growers do not care about the shape of the trees, but the highest production. Is this the way you want to grow your tree?

Regardless, you need to get the tree some room to grow. You do not want to grow a 40' tree in 10' space....

Bob, I'm not in a hurry. Hawthorn is not like jujube and it has limited use. The fruits are very sour and is mostly for processing, or eaten with sugar added. Dried fruits do not taste well either. They may be used to make jelly or jam....

I'll need to taste the fruits first, before I invest $$ in this tree. But the fruits are nowhere to be found for the varieties they sell....

RedSun, no, I don't want it to be commercial. I wouldn't sell the fruits. But we do enjoy having a lot of fruits. So a good looking tree, with plenty of fruits and NOT too high so I can maintain it easier. I guess I can kiss the last item good bye.

Do not give it up yet. Try the best you can....

Yeah I myself would head it down fairly low. If nothing sprouts, replace it. I see a huge node right about the blue tape. The caliper still looks skinny to me. It should work. I want my fruit trees open center and 8 feet tall at most. Even apples. I don't grow them, no room left. But may one day. I don't have deer pressure, so can keep fruiting branches low as possible, just above the lawn mower.
Here is a nectaplum in April

{{gwi:2121374}}

It grew like a beast this year, here it is in October. I need to do some pruning late winter!
{{gwi:2118928}}

The pictures RedSun showed are not Chinese Hawthorn as far as I can tell. All except the penultimate one look like wild Crataegus monogyna. I don't know how similar that species is to C pinnatifida. The penultimate one may be another species.

floral_uk, how do you know those pictures are not Chinese hawthorn?? Do you grow any?

Redsun, What do you suggest for me to try? Cut it down now?

Drew5, yes I want the height of your tree, maybe a little higher. Same question for you, should I cut it down and hope it survives?

For my tree, it really didn't do much in this first year, got some leaves that's it. It probably got affected by the California drought (worst in 1200 years some say).

I do not really know how much room you have. You can prune and keep it as a small tree. Just more work.

You can head it low, but the tree still grows wide. So it will just grow to whatever the room and shape you want to train it for.

If it is dormant prune it right before it comes out of dormancy. Maybe February where you're at. To leave a lot of nodes on it, maybe prune high say at 4 feet. It will still be a small tree, and you can prune it however you want after that.
A note on my photos, my tree was a troubled tree. I pruned it down and only one branch came back. So I made that a new central leader, headed it etc. Well this cold winter killed that central leader and I was back to ground zero. 4 branches sprouted just above the graft. I decided to leave them as low scaffolds and that is what you see now. the tree has been planted for 2 years now. A major difference I see is the new scaffolds are a lot thicker than the first year. As the roots were fine. So developing a root system for a year made a huge difference in caliper of branches.
Here is a photo at the end of the first year. Notice the new central leader is smaller than this years scaffolds. This year's scaffolds are twice as thick! Developing a root system first is a major, major good idea! So if all goes well you will have much better scaffolds than you do now. they will be thick and strong!
Here is direct evidence of what developing the roots can do for you. Again compare branches here in the first year, to those in the 2nd year. All branches in 2nd year were started in 2nd year. So twice now I have had to redelop this tree's structure. If I get dieback this winter, it will be less. The scaffolds are way too thick to dieback.

No, RedSun, I do not grow Chinese Hawthorn but I see Crataegus monogyna almost every day and do know it extremely well. It is ubiquitous here - it grows wild everywhere and is used as hedging all over the country.

To confirm my ids I also checked your images on Google. The first appears on many websites with no name other than generic 'Hawthorn' but the background looks typically British or Irish and therefore not C pinnatifida. I believe that the bayflora use of the photo, where it is labelled as 'Chinese hawthorn', is simply incorrect use of an image from the web. The second is the Wiki illustration for the entry on C monogyna. The third is from a UK website simply labelled 'Hawthorn in Autumn' so therefore highly unlikely to be C pinnatifida. The last is a picture of wild Hawthorn blossom in Allesley, UK so not C pinnatifida.

flora_UK, if you are not 100% certain, then do not give people the idea that you are sure certain. Particularly when you tried to trash other people's post.

I`ve seen you posted this kind of things many times, to many other people also. It is just a bad way to continue any public discussion.

RedSun, Flora did say "as far as I can tell", so she didn't present her conclusion as a certainty. If they are pictures you found online, you can't really be certain either. One of the wonderful things about online forums is that other posters will correct us when they feel we are mistaken. It leads to a fuller understanding for all.

"The pictures RedSun showed are not Chinese Hawthorn as far as I can tell."

If you read the first few words, what he/she is saything that I'm posting the wrong pictures.... It is just hard to continue any conversation with such strong statement. And this is not the first time this happens...

Here this is a online forum and we are not doing Ph.D thesis. I try to help a fellow GWer. I do not have the time and energy to pin-point the source of each photo.

In general, I know this plant pretty well. I've seen so many of them. This tree grows common in China and it is in popular culture for a long time, in movie, painting and some media. Here are some pictures from a very recent Chinese move "Under the Hawthorn Tree" or "Love Under the Hawthorn Tree". Again, I do not know what hawthorn tree that is. But I assume that is Chinese Hawthorn tree. Enjoy the pictures.

{{gwi:2121375}}
{{gwi:2121376}}
{{gwi:2121377}}
{{gwi:2121378}}

This post was edited by RedSun on Mon, Dec 22, 14 at 11:19