A young tree was recently planted at the college. It has been sheared as a holiday tree. It stands about five feet tall and is full to the ground. It looks almost nothing like a tree of the same height in my home yard grown from a first year seedling.

My questions are about the way to approach the training of a tree like the first one. My first priority would be to see that it does not stress for moisture as the roots become established. However, because the branches are so dense from shearing, I wonder when and if it might be appropriate to remove some of these.

The tree is located at lower elevation, higher summer temps and lower humidity than in its normal range. It will be shaded quite a bit by a high canopied oak. And it is within seventy-five feet of a year-round stream.

Has anyone out there had to deal with this kind of tree in a similar situation?

Reply to post by Mark Goodwin, on March 16, 2000 at 22:23:02:

situation, no, but I have delt with some landscape plantings that came from Christmas tree stock.

Wait a few years for roots to establish then treat it as a crown restoration. remove branches growing in undesirable directions. Allow two or three years for the work so you don't remove too many buds in any one place. This would not be a long term problem, but in the short term you could end up with an unsightly hole in a small trees canopy.

Reply to post by Mark Goodwin, on March 16, 2000 at 22:23:02:

I agree with jps. Leave the foliage for now.
Start cutting off the dead and dying ones as
they go. Then do the crown restoration in that sort of fashion.
Hope it thrives for you.