Jacaranda pruning question

[Dennis_socal]

Hi!

This is my first post. I have a question about pruning my Jacaranda. I live in Orange County, Southern California. I planted the tree (15 gal size) about 2 years ago. It is on the side of a slope in full sun and gets the full blast from the Santa Ana winds when they blow. Actually I have two of them planted about 40 feet apart.

Last year, one of the trees had a rapid growth of the single leader by about 4 feet. This year, there is a tuft of branches where the original top of the tree was when I planted it (about 10 feet high) and a second tuft of growth at the top of the leader (14 feet or so). I'm worried that the tree is too tall to withstand the wind and that all the energy is going into the leader and not the branches.

Should I cut the leader off at the 10 ft level and let the original branches become the adult structure, or leave the leader alone and let it grow?

The other tree didn't have a leader shoot up like that and it looks like it will be developing branches at the 10 ft level.

Any suggestions for me?

Thanks very much in advance.

Dennis

[Dennis_socal]

Any ideas out there?

Thanks,
Dennis