trim suckers off damaged tree?

[cracker joe]

This is a camphor tree that I removed from a friend's yard to put in mine. It went into shock and all the leaves turned brown. I trimmed off the dead branches and hoped for the best.

Now the remaining branches have started to sprout leaves and some suckers. Should I prune and shape these or just let it sprout naturally?

Thanks...

 

[treeclimber165]

1) The 'suckers' are sprouting out at the ends of the live wood. More than likely, everything above those sprouts is dead. Doesn't look like it will make a viable specimen.
2) The tree is WAYYYYYY too close to your house. Be grateful it practically died, because if it had flourished there you would have damaged your house within a few years. Looks like you only have maybe 3' from the house? 15' minimum is my personal rule of thumb. I doubt you will find many experts who recommend closer than 12'-15' from a house, especially with a fast growing, messy tree like a Camphor. It may be small now, but it GROWS.

 

[cracker joe]

Thanks for letting me know about the distance from the house for planting, luckily it is still in a 24" box. It may not be pretty, but it's alive.

As for the suckers, should they be thinned or left to grow out?

 

[Tom Dunlap]

The tree has been stressed and has responded by dieing back and then leafing out. Since it only has those leaves to grow every one is very valuable. If you cut off any leaves you'll be stressing the tree all over again. After the tree is in the ground and has stabilized you can start to do some training. The book by Ed Gilman, Pruning, is a great text to understand structural pruning.

Tom

 

[cracker joe]

Thanks for your insight Tom. I will let nature take it course for now and deal with thinning it later.

Would you recommend waiting until the spring to put it in the ground or is sooner better than later?

 

[treeclimber165]

Your climate is similar to mine (Orange County, FL). I'd plant it this fall when temps quit hitting 90* regularly. When it is obvious where the green wood ends and the dead wood starts, you should be able to finish deadwooding it without cutting into the green wood.
Wait till next spring before doing any training cuts to develop a central leader. Plenty of time to read that book Tom recommended, and/or others on pruning.

 

[cracker joe]

Thanks Brian.

 

[Treeman14]

All good advice, so far. I'd add one more thought. Do NOT fertilize for at least one year after planting. I personally am against most fertilizing unless there is a known nutrient definciency.

If you fertilize before a good root system is established, you will get a flush of new growth that cannot be supported by the roots. The tree will look great for a short time and then crash quickly.