How to properly trim a cherry or weeping cherry?

[Smallaxe]

Originally Posted by Dstosh

Apical Dominance


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apical_dominance

I believe that's it. Thank you.

[FYS777]

Originally Posted by rickcrisbalthis

Usually when we prune a weeping cherry, we prune to keep it under the 20 ft mark. Most of our customers want a 12-15 ft. tops. Usually we just prune the unruly sprouts as someone here put it. Also the phenomenon you mentioned is actually a result of the terminal bud being cut. It has a hormone suppressing lateral growth until the limb is long enough to absorb the hormone enough to allow the lateral growth. Removing the terminal bud eliminates the hormone, auxin, from suppressing lateral growth which makes a plant bushier.

So in short, you should remove improper leaders, thin out necessary limbs if they want it looser, and always selectively prune to avoid cutting a lot of terminal buds as well as risking the damage of bark on the remaining limbs. Hope that helps.

this ............

[GrazerZ]

I have seen them trimmed a number of ways, we hand prune them. First we remove vertical leaders that ruin the weeping effect. then we look for cross overs, wounds, visual balance issues. then when that is all done I will on occasion trim up the low hanging branches. but I would normally ask first. I do always tend to trim them up if they are planted with companion plants under them that are obstructed. They are very vigorous growers when healthy and I would not get to worried about it.
A perfect example is pruning crabapples. which I hate by the way. How do you prune them?
Some guys take a hedge trimmer to them and create balls, umbrellas, etc. and customers love it.
I don't do it that way unless the tree has been trimmed that way for years. we hand prune then, which takes forever mind you, and is exactly why I won't plant them unless requested. And while I'm at it, I hate cotoneasters as well!

[Smallaxe]

Crabapples usually don't need pruning, unless they were planted in too small a space. Trimming trees to look like giant bushes, is silly, but I realize their are home owners out there that think that way.

I remember having to hand prune, with a tree saw, several trees in order to bring them down to about 2/3 their present height. Over the course of 3 years I was able to stimulate lower growth with a bushier symetry at the new height. Very tedious and I hated it as well, but I only did it for the one client.

[GrazerZ]

We had a commercial building with 5 crabs in front that had not been pruned properly. it toke us years to get them back in shape. ever year it would take me almost a whole day to do these 5 trees. It ruined me on crabs.
I will say though that there are a few variates that don't really fruit and stay relatively small that would be the exception.