I have an old redbud with a very bent trunk that used to have many large trees around it, keeping the canopy small. With all the large trees removed 5 years ago, the canopy has grown large and shades my vegetable gardens too early in the day. It’s beautiful in bloom and drives me insane leafed out. We’ve pruned out a lot of lower growth the last 2 years, but it’s still a problem. I want to cut it back to a 2-3’ trunk (relatively straight there) and wondering if i should wait and see if it will sucker/regrow from that, or if I can graft some of it back into the trunk? Multiple bark grafts? That would be instead of buying a new tree to start over in the corner that has a lot of tree roots from a maple 3’ away. Anyone with experience/thoughts about this? What would be the best time of year to try?
I can find basic info on grafting redbuds but not much on this specific idea.
To whomever mentioned to me on another thread I can’t find that redbuds coppice- thank you. I was super excited to see mine starting to regrow. It was cut down late winter. Only issue being that I let my tree guy convince me to leave a much taller trunk to help fill in the space above the fence faster (hideous, unfiltered view of old neighbor houses/unkempt weed yards with my old trees gone.) He cut it around 3.5’. I’m going to be all over pruning this exactly how I want it after more shoots come up and I want to graft my red leafed one back to it next year so it’s a mix of straight native and whatever that one is (forest pansy or something?).
Redbud has been vigorously sending out shoots. I pulled off a lot before this picture and then removed most of what is coming off the trunk after. I originally thought I would leave maybe 3 shoots near the top evenly spaced to have the existing trunk and then bushier upper, and graft my red-leaved one and one of those cool green to white leaves ones I don’t know the name, but changed my mind. I like the big thick shoot coming from the base. I think this winter I will cut off the rest of trunk and just let that be the new tree.
The new redbud is growing beautifully. There was a ton of main trunk growth that I slowly removed over the summer as the tree I liked grew. I was leaving one major 1” shoot as a backup tree, but it snapped off as I was pruning the tree today. The branches on the new tree grew INSANELY FAST. They were 7+’ long on each side and bottom up have been breaking off from the weight before I could get to them, leaving what is now 5 gaping holes in the trunk, but the lowest one is already healing nicely. I cut 2-3’ off each branch today along with another lower branch. the leader looks 9’ (6’ fence). I plan on keeping the whole things around 12. I won’t cut the old trunk for at least another year as it’s needed as a stake.
