I just planted this redbud in the ground. It’s two years old from seed, and I had been growing it in a smart pot.
It’s healthy, but as with most redbuds, it doesn’t really “want” to grow a single, straight trunk.
The leader starts off nicely, but arches back as you can see.
Since it will be something of a “specimen” tree on the corner of the house, I would like a single trunked tree.
What would you do? My first thought was to stake the leader up straight next year, so I have about 6 feet or so of straight trunk, until it adds enough wood to stay that way, then let it go wild after that with only corrective pruning.
My other thought was just to completely let it go for now, and then try to prune it in a couple of years. But doing that, I’ll have a short truno with a fork in it most likely, based on what it’s doing right now, or, I’ll have a tree that grows diagonally.
The stake there now is just to keep the rootball stable while it roots into the ground.
