Mulberry pruning
Hello all, I have a Morus Nigra tree which is about 5 years old about 2m tall. It doesn't have a central leader but 4 main stems of similar size growing at just above ground height. I would like to grow it into a standard type low spreading tree but feel some apprehension about pruning it as it seems like drastic action....
a) is it safe to take off 3 main stems to turn it into a standard or will it weaken/kill the tree?
b) is it a good time of year to do this? I read that late winter can cause bleeding which can weaken the tree and introduce disease, is this correct?
c) if I leave it as is, will I just end up with a big untidy mulberry bush?
Thanks in advance for your advice!
T
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I don't know anything about mulberries. But my suspicion, based on other multi-stemmed trees, is that at 5 years old, it won't do it a lot of good to hack it about so much. Others may disagree, of course.
May I ask why you have decided to change its shape after five years? It will be difficult to choose one of the stems to become a vertical trunk, I should imagine. It will always be lopsided.
I would guess that you are going to have to wait another five years at least before you see a single mulberry on it anyway so why not just buy a standard tree and enjoy your two mulberries for what they are?