Couple more details that might be helpful: Autumn foliage colour is orange. The tree started blooming in early May (I'm in the equivalent of zone 9 or 10) I suspect it's budded on a 4-foot single trunk (standard form). The branches are very thin and they slope downwards (very elegantly) instead of growing upwards. some of the new branches start horizontal and then slope downwards as they get longer.

HI. This is a photo of the Miami with the Yellowing branch. Overall it is healthy, just that one branch is withering.... but it is a late bloomer... just now blooming in August. Glad to hear that Powdery Mildew or the yellowing on the Pink Velours are not major problems. We haven't had much rain but I have watered the new Pink Velour well almost every day, holding off when we did get rain. I did not apply any fertilizer to the new Pink Velour. I did apply a little Triple Phosphate to the Miami (in early July) because it still didn't have any buds at that time and had never really bloomed well. I've watered the Miami and larger pink velour once or twice a week because we haven't had much rain at all for a long stretch here in my area. Thanks for the comments. Is there anyway to avoid the Powdery Mildew? This is the first year I've seen it.

I think I would move it to another area, further from the house, where the only pruning needed would be the removal of dead branches, and keeping the bottom tidy. IMO, pruned CMs look AWFUL, and are an ongoing nightmare. There are any number of good CM cultivars that will stay to your size requirements, so get one of them, and plant it near the house instead of the 'Natchez'. However,I would think that it would be OK, if not ideal there if you don't want to move it. You might have to cut off any branches, or trunks, that end up too close to the house or to the roof, but it would give some shade there, and would be dramatic. If you don't HAVE another area, and don't want to let it grow in its present location, then see if someone will come and take it away, "free for the digging" or for a fee, since it was so recently planted and should be easy to dig out. I don't know that you would make your initial cost back, since it IS in the ground now, but ..... In any case, keep up the watering - whenever the root ball is dry down to the depth of about 2", or to the depth of your finger poked into the ground to the second knuckle, NOT by a set schedule. Water it really well when you water, so that the root ball is soaked. If you haven't mulched, do so, as widely as possible, no deeper than 4", and no mulch next to the trunk(s). The mulch can always be scraped back to dig it up and replant another one, if you decide to go that route.

Sorry! I just saw this again. You can stake it up, in which case it's wise to tie all five trucks loosely together. However, I don't recommend the intertwining, unless you have a dwarf variety (which you do not), and it's sheltered. msazadi, if you like that look, pick up a small Acoma or some of the new shrub CMs. They're perfect to train. CMs put up tons and tons of shoots each year. They grow out by runners and up through the middle. They also grow so quickly that if they're intertwined, sooner or later they'll get so big and thick they choke themselves. As a matter of fact you prune a CM for trunks usually, from the inside out, depending upon where your straightest shoots are. You definately think its little spider growth on the inside to prevent disease and mildew. Yes, I'd stake yours. Use some of that soft, green, stretchy tape and something firm in the ground on the outside of the tree. Avoid something rough that can scratch its tender bark.