Young Royal Frost Birch tree right side not leafing out

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animefangz

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I bought a royal frost birch last year on the internet that was about a foot tall and it was topped. It was only like 1-2 years old idk, but last year all the branches it had were leafed out and fine. However, this year only one side of last years branches have branched out and it's growing the other branches from the bottom. The branches its growing from the bottom are on all sides and have grown larger then last years branches (I'll post pictures later...just can't find the camera at this moment...) and my question is what should i do about the branches that aren't leafed out?
Also, the branches that haven't leafed out aren't dead yet, i can tell because they are so bendy that i can make a question mark and not feel any breaking.
And will the tree grow past the topping? its trunk of the topping is about as big as this "O".
 
At some point this season you will realize that the leafless limbs are dead, then prune them off.

Make sure your birch is not too deep in the ground, even at this young age start with borer control.

We may be looking at simple winter injury.
 
At some point this season you will realize that the leafless limbs are dead, then prune them off.

Make sure your birch is not too deep in the ground, even at this young age start with borer control.

We may be looking at simple winter injury.

So i wait until it's dead to prune it off? and when would i know to prune it off? Is it when they break at small bends or is there another way...Or do i prune it now?
also sorry for all the questions, but i want this birch to do well and it just stinks that this is happening!
 
Also will the tree be all right with all that has happened? i mean it's already topped and the top is basically more or less dead if it doesn't leaf out and i have to prune the top off...will it still grow normally or what?
 
Prune when your shears are sharp.

That little tree would be ok even if you mowed over it. :msp_scared: You should probably not do that though. :jester:


If you don't want to have a "clump" tree, you should prune out the suckers at the base, in addition to the dead branches at the top. Those tiny pruning wounds will all be swallowed up by the tree's future growth, providing it continues to grow well. The most important thing right now is to prune well to encourage the shape and health of the tree 5 years from now.

Right now, that means get rid of the dead branches and the suckers at the base.


BTW: suckers at the base and dead branches in the top are strong indicators of some pretty stessful conditions in the tree's past. I suspect that perhaps the tree didn't get watered or planted properly last year.
 
Prune when your shears are sharp.

That little tree would be ok even if you mowed over it. :msp_scared: You should probably not do that though. :jester:


If you don't want to have a "clump" tree, you should prune out the suckers at the base, in addition to the dead branches at the top. Those tiny pruning wounds will all be swallowed up by the tree's future growth, providing it continues to grow well. The most important thing right now is to prune well to encourage the shape and health of the tree 5 years from now.

Right now, that means get rid of the dead branches and the suckers at the base.


BTW: suckers at the base and dead branches in the top are strong indicators of some pretty stessful conditions in the tree's past. I suspect that perhaps the tree didn't get watered or planted properly last year.

It wasn't planted last year. i bought it last year and it came topped and i planted it this year like a month or so ago before it leafed out.
 
I am not sure what you mean by "topped". The stem was cut off, and it was only 1 foot tall? :dizzy:


That is not normally how trees are sold at the nursery.

Don't worry about that now. It's a small tree, and should outgrow all those problems if well cared for. Water it deeply once a week, and hope for the best.
 
I am not sure what you mean by "topped". The stem was cut off, and it was only 1 foot tall? :dizzy:


That is not normally how trees are sold at the nursery.

Don't worry about that now. It's a small tree, and should outgrow all those problems if well cared for. Water it deeply once a week, and hope for the best.

Well the tree was to tall for the box so she cut the top of the tree instead of, god forbid, getting a bigger box. and alright i will water it well every week :)
 
What should i do about this if anything?

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The top of the tree hasn't leafed out this whole year and all i've dont so far if prune off the dead branches from it. but a branch lower then the top has gotten HUGE and i was wondering if it has become the new leader and what i should do. Will the tree correct itself or is this a disaster waiting to happen?

The tree is leaning to the left already and if that branch is the only leader then this tree is just going to destroy itself. So please if someone knows if this will correct itself or if the tree's doomed please tell me now.

PS the original top branch hasn't grown at all this year, it's still the same size as the top.
 
ok, i kept clipping back until i hit green live bark and i scrapped the bark back of the last piece i cut off before i hit the green (overshot it by half an inch which i'm ok with)

Just an update ^-^
 
...ok, i hope i dont have to cut back to far :/.
Should i cut it back until it's flat to the first live branch? or should i cut it back to a slant on the opposite side.

\
..\
....\_ < cut it level to first live branch like this or instead of flat, should i give it a slant cut like this \ instead of this _?
 
animefangz, you're starting to crack me up. You & your weed of a birch tree, I'm starting to think it's the last one on earth.:msp_tongue:

Cut that little #### of a stub you left just above the the live branch, using the same angle as the branch as a guide.
 
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