North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["William C. Garthright" <billg@inebraska.com>]

Well, I did it again. This is really dumb, but I suppose I'd better 
'fess up. I planted an Illinois Everbearing Mulberry this past spring, 
and it has grown like a weed. It was just a twig when I planted it, but 
now it's about twelve feet tall with a trunk maybe three inches in 
diameter at the base. OK, it's raining, so I'm just guessing, but the 
point is that it's really grown surprisingly big in just a few short 
months, even though I tried to do a little summer pruning (not much, 
since I'd just planted it).

It doesn't have too many branches, and those it does have tend to be 
very long - even summer pruning didn't seem to stop them from extending 
further. But one branch (the only one it had when I planted it) is 
really huge. In fact, it's bigger in diameter than the main trunk that 
rises above it. And it has a narrow crotch angle, though I've been 
trying to gently correct that. Yup, you guessed it,... except that I 
didn't snap the branch off (it was too big for that), I ended up 
splitting the main trunk of the tree in half (for about three or four 
inches below this branch).

Have I killed the tree completely? I tied it up again right away - 
cursing my stupidity all the while - but I doubt this will work. Since 
the split is from the top down, I suppose it's almost certain to get 
moisture in it this winter, which will then freeze and pry it open. (We 
usually have fairly dry winters, but not completely so.) Whatever 
happens, I imagine that this branch will have to go, right? But should I 
cut it off now, or wait until my normal late-winter pruning?

This is going to make a horrible mess of the tree, whatever I do. But 
maybe it will still survive. And actually, I'd like the tree to stay 
small and bushy,... which is definitely NOT what it wants to do. I'd 
appreciate some suggestions. Do I let it go until spring or prune now? 
And how much? Do I cut off the whole branch, or maybe remove the split 
side of the trunk, too? Since the trunk is fairly small ABOVE this 
branch, the lower trunk is really split in half. It's just disgusting.

I hadn't planned to keep most of the other branches on the tree. One is 
too low, and most of the others are higher than I'd like (next spring, I 
plan to prune the trunk below them to encourage more branching). But 
this branch was perfect, except for the narrow crotch angle,... and 
being so big it nearly overwhelms the tree.

Incidentally, there are a half-dozen green mulberries on the tree, which 
I thought was kind of funny for October. I've left them alone, since I 
figured they wouldn't take much energy from such a huge tree. Now, 
though, might be a different story.

Bill
Lincoln, NE (zone 5)

--
I think on-stage nudity is disgusting, shameful and damaging to all 
things American. But if I were 22 with a great body, it would be 
artistic, tasteful, patriotic and a progressive religious experience. - 
Shelley Winters