Weeping Cherry Tree

[Dennisfly]

Bought a Weeping Cherry Tree and planted it about 2 years ago. It is growing, but many new shoots grow up instead of "weeping". The Mrs. and I have been discussing what to do with these, prune them off or tie them into the "weeping position". Any suggestions?

 

[Richard]

Tell the tree it looks fat

 

[Chuck52]

Dennis,

Check out GardenWeb and go to their trees forum. A question there will likely get answered by someone with experience with the same tree.

Chuck

 

[ToadHill]

When I was in the tree care business, your case was not uncommon. The branches that have reverted to the natural state need to be pruned out before they reach 1/2 to 3/4 inch in diameter. It will continue to happen and you will need to continue to prune.

 

[JohnDeere4300]

You could prune like Toadhill said....and i have also seen the shoots get longer and then start to turn down.

 

[Dennisfly]

Thanks to all for the responses. I took Chuck's advice and went to gardenweb, which is a very good site. There was an existing thread which exactly answered my question. For the benefit of others, here is the answer.

"If you know a little about grafting you would know that the trunk is a vertical rootstock which gives your weeping plant height before it starts weeping. In other words, it keeps it from looking like a haystack. The part that weeps is a cutting that is grafted high on the top of the rootstock. There should be a distinct difference in the bark and there should be a scar where the two compatible plants joined and healed together. If your vertical sprout is a part of the graft it won't grow far before it begins to weep again on its own. However, if the vertical sprout emanatates from below the graft then it will continue growing vertically and will become bigger and bigger in girth and the weeping part will live a few more years but stop growing."