I don't have one ,,so I don't know ,,,but I would be inclined to leave it be and let it sort itself out

till next year , ron

every leaf is a energy making machine... do not cut anything off for 2 years ... while the roots get established ..

and here is the precise answer ... crikey ... dont knock off the new leader.. trying to cut off the old stub ... got it .. been there.. dont that ... do as i say.. not as i did ...

in other words.. let that new growth wood age for a year at least ...

in tree time.. there really isnt any hurry ...

is this your look alike to that ugly NZ pine thingeee?? .. lol

ken

Well, the good news is it has buds popping all over and as Ken says you want to let it be. Not sure if I’d be happy with a new plant that had a one inch caliper top cut off and now had to rely on a side shoot for the leader. I’d expect better from Conifer Kingdom.

tj

Ron and Ken, Ok, I will let it be, just want to have an answer based in knowledge when my prune happy husband heads out there!

ken, you think the Norfolk Island Pine is ugly? It is almost surreal to me which is probably why I like it. I was raised on Dr. Seuss and tend to like those odd looking plants. Will be posting an update on the other thread that is kind of funny.

TJ, should I contact Conifer Kingdom? I wasn’t impressed when I initially saw it as it had that thick central trunk and that odd branch there, but neither had growth on it at that point so I wasn’t sure if I should be annoyed or not :) I have so little space for my new garden so every conifer will be important.

I met the guy who runs it back in 2012 (at Ken’s house, incidentally) and he seemed like good people. Send them a pic and see what they say.

tj

These are tough trees that grow like weeds once they become established. I have a grove of seven of them and I cut the branches off to the trunk every year and they leaf out to be green totem poles. As noted above, leave it be for a year or so and then you can begin to shape it as you wish. Make sure to give it plenty of water; these trees can live submerged. Young Taxodiums never look like much of anything, so don't be concerned about this one's lack of structure.

While cutting side branches off on these is common, I’ve not heard of topping a one inch trunk. It will take some time and effort for this one to be corrected and look good.

tj

ken, you think the Norfolk Island Pine is ugly?

===>>>

naw ... i was just yanking your chain ....

i would call whathisname .... and ask him what the deal is ... show him a pic.. or refer him here ...

ask for a call back from... im wainting.. hmmm... ah .... sam ...

if you dont call him.. i might ... im with junkie on this ...

ken

I was thinking of Brent. I wonder if he’s still closely associated with CK?

tj

I have a grove of seven of them and I cut the branches off to the trunk every year and they leaf out to be green totem poles.

==>>> your going to throw this out there.. and not give us pix???

whats that all about sara?

It is a bit odd that it’s leafing out so late in your zone. How much root trauma?

If you beat the roots then let it be until next year.

If you didn’t do much to the roots I would drop them a note and see if they back it up if you’re your willing to be patient. CK charges a pretty penny so I’d expect better as welll.

I will take pix!!!

Oh and Brent stilll owns CK.

I didn’t do anything to the roots, just put it in the hole like usual. It has been unseasonably cold and rainy so that may be a factor. Although everything I put in this spring has seemed to enjoy the almost daily downpours.

'Peve Minaret' leafs out relatively late for me, too. And I'd also just let it be. FWIW.

Well if no root surgery and you’ve had a wet spring that would be more concerning. I had an extremely cold spring (talking 21 degrees on May 9) and my bald cypress have all leafed out weeks ago. PM is an odd grower when young by the way.

Annette , when planting you should at least shake off some of the potting soil and expose roots

others encourage even more drastic root work at planting

ron

SO COOL

bizarre .. but as noted.. way cool ...

what was the inspiration??? .. maybe deer started it???

ken

Actually this is a relatively common practice. I'd seen others do it and thievery is the mother of invention!

Also love the cool structure of that twisty tree in the background. Makes an interesting juxtaposition!

Ron, I generally only mess with the roots if a plant is really root bound. At most I pinch off a bit at the bottom, but I am a notoriously lazy planter. All of the stuff I got from CK was decidedly not root bound and pretty much came apart as we pulled them out of the pot to plant. Even the free Thuja Whipchord is doing well and I spent very little effort on it as my research led me to believe it’s not really well suited for my area and isn’t likely to be around long.

I have a Peve Minaret that I planted two years ago. I had a few branches break due to a bad snow storm so decided to trim the branches right back to 2". We are second week in June here on Vancouver Island BC and it's starting to show green but so incredibly slow. It's also sent out a sucker that's about 5" from the ground. Did I make the tree mad by pruning it ?