Genus study - Amelanchier aka "Serviceberries"

[Javaman4373]

Here is a follow up of post 74 in this thread. This the tree today. It has a wide base and some taper. There the large branch coming from the base and curvingup beside the trunk. I am trying to decide if I should keep it or chop it off at the base. Any opinions?

 

[Tums]

What is the front of the tree? Is it the last picture? (so you're using it as one of the side branches)

 

[Frozentreehugger]

Here is a follow up of post 74 in this thread. This the tree today. It has a wide base and some taper. There the large branch coming from the base and curvingup beside the trunk. I am trying to decide if I should keep it or chop it off at the base. Any opinions?View attachment 543109View attachment 543110View attachment 543111

I’m having trouble coming up with a means of keeping it in a design . I think you have 3 options . Turn the tree so the start of the branch is hidden . Like your second pic and use it like a branch from the side . 2 chop it low and grow a twin trunk using the small shoot . Near its base . 3 chop it off using it as a deadwood feature or no deadwood . But leave it’s base to widen the nebari . Considering there slowness to increase trunk thickness . And stands to reason slow to heal big wounds . I think the deadwood idea is best choice

 

[Frozentreehugger]

I collected another one this spring . See 2024 Yamadori thread . Hopefully I have better success than the one last year . What I thought was a triple trunk clump . Is a double and a single , very shallow roots on top of a granite outcrop . But I got a reasonable amount of roots . My crap rural Ontario internet won’t allow pics. To load today . On a upside if the main clump lives . It’s kind of nice small trunk feminine . Tree that will not need large wounds healing but let’s see if it lives .

 

[Empty Mountain]

My canadensis today. A lot of lower shoots left on to thicken the base, I'll do some shoot selection later in spring to sort them out. First repot out of nursery soil was three weeks ago, gained 2 inches at the base that was buried in the pot.

 

[Empty Mountain]

Here is a follow up of post 74 in this thread. This the tree today. It has a wide base and some taper. There the large branch coming from the base and curvingup beside the trunk. I am trying to decide if I should keep it or chop it off at the base. Any opinions?

If the trunks are fused at the bottom and I can't cut and seperate the second trunk cleanly I would just keep it and make it a funky tree.

 

[Javaman4373]

If the trunks are fused at the bottom and I can't cut and seperate the second trunk cleanly I would just keep it and make it a funky tree.

I potted this tree rather deep in the clay pot, so access to the base is hampered. Once it is repotted, it should be possible to cut off that branch. It would leave a relatively large wound, which others have said will heal slowly with this species. I think I will let it grow this season to improve its roots and repot it next spring and decide then whether to keep that branch or not. Thanks for the comments.

 

[Frozentreehugger]

My latest collected . Third week of April . I believe A laveis . What I thought was 1 plant growing on top of a granite outcrop . Is 3 . From the size and health of the leaves I’m hopeful they will all recover . The clump is the weakest. One of those deals when you clean the root ball . Roots from other trees . And the smaller trees. But I’m hopeful there doing ok . My failure last year was late opening the buds and then right away started to deteriorate. Not so this time . All thoughts and or ideas always welcome

 

[Frozentreehugger]

My latest collected . Third week of April . I believe A laveis . What I thought was 1 plant growing on top of a granite outcrop . Is 3 . From the size and health of the leaves I’m hopeful they will all recover . The clump is the weakest. One of those deals when you clean the root ball . Roots from other trees . And the smaller trees. But I’m hopeful there doing ok . My failure last year was late opening the buds and then right away started to deteriorate. Not so this time . All thoughts and or ideas always welcome

Ignore the flower petals on the soil from my crab apple tree . Under which these trees are recovering

 

[Empty Mountain]

My canadensis yesterday. did some shoot selection and left a long back branch and eyepoker branch down low to thicken up the base. One of the branches at the top will be removed later in the season and the other will continue as the leader. Plan for this year is to prune the top half harder and let the branches lower extend more to control/improve taper and to control any mildew issues with partial defoliation just to let air inside as the foliage gets denser.

Last year it put out a lot of branches down low, in the landscape Amelanchier grows as a clump style medium sized tree so I would say its behaviour is in-between a basally dominant shrub and an apically dominany single trunk tree. I'm training mine as a more feminine single trunk tree unless I get an interesting secondary trunk coming out of the root base.