Hello all! I hope everybody is keeping safe and well.

I recently purchased the tree below from someone who was selling up their collection. When I purchased the tree it was not wired and many of the branches were crossing one another. These are the pictures that were taken on the kitchen counter, I'm sorry the lighting isn't great. (The tree is kept outdoors, I just brought it inside in order to work at the counter.)

I've since pruned the tree back and have wired some of the branches. As you can see, the lower branches are quite long and seem out of proportion to the trunk which I like to see continue to grow. i just wondered if people thought it would be sensible for me to cut back these branches. I've been hesitant to do so because most of the leaf growth as been at the end of the branches.

Any comments or suggestions would be really welcome!

Hi, nice to see you getting hands-on!

If it were mine, I would only cut back after leaf drop. And I prefer to cut back to visible dormant budds only on carpinus (it is, isn't it?)

Great, that's really helpful, thanks so much!

Yes, I've always assumed it's a carpinus

Just a note. Working on the tree indoors gives you a big mess to clean up. If you repot, there is dirt everywhere. If you trim carefully there are little bits of wood everywhere. This is not a problem for me, of course, but there is this other person living in the house who doesn't like having dirt everywhere. I have no idea why.

Most of the serious work around here is done when the outdoors turns from uncomfortable to beautiful, so outdoors is the answer for us outdoor freaks.

YMMV

Ivan Mann wrote: Just a note. Working on the tree indoors gives you a big mess to clean up. If you repot, there is dirt everywhere. If you trim carefully there are little bits of wood everywhere. This is not a problem for me, of course, but there is this other person living in the house who doesn't like having dirt everywhere. I have no idea why.

Most of the serious work around here is done when the outdoors turns from uncomfortable to beautiful, so outdoors is the answer for us outdoor freaks.

It is called.. A shed
YMMV