You have to tie up the leader before it hardens off. Dont pull too hard. This plant can have very brittle branches. Good luck this year.

The limbs on this plant are pretty flexible... even when hardened. The one I tried today to bend up was very thin... which is why it probably broke. When I got this plant, it never had a leader. It was about 3' tall and all the branches on the top were bent over headed towards the ground. So I've been tying up a leader each year only to have it die during winter. Now that I think about it... even though the last two leaders were very flexible and went up without any force, I wonder if the inner part of the wood broke a little causing it to die out.

This particular plant you can bend the old wood pretty easy as long as the branches aren't any thicker than 1/2". I may have to get some pictures... but it's dark now so I'll just try to explain it. Right now it has two branches at the very top, both of which are 1/4". These branches go out a couple inches, then straight down. However, the new buds started putting on growth and are headed up at the moment. Should I train one of these as the new leader?

My awesome photochop:

Your 'Angel Falls' was taken off the stake at 3 ft' to promote the desired weeping effect that is common for this cultivar. The main leader then became part of the, or incorporated into, remaining weeping limbs. In my opinion it was taken off the stake to early.

You can't re-train harden off weeping limbs to upright main leaders on this cultivar. The new upright buds which are part of these limbs won't train up either.

My 'Angel Falls' was taken off the stake at 6 ft. Now all branches are weeping. You see small upright extensions on my weeping branches. With enough growth as they are part of the weeping branch they will weep also.

Since you don't have a main leader and remaining limbs are weeping down it is what it is. Enjoy it, In time it will become a nice focal point conifer. At 3 ft. it will weep to the ground and grow prostrate. Make sure you give it plenty of room. Not such a bad deal. It will be interesting for sure.

Why not post a photo. Let's see what is going on with this cultivar.and what you have left to work with.

Dave

Note small upright extensions on the weeping limbs.
{{gwi:683967}}

Thanks Dave, Here's my Angel Falls. Note the small stub at the very top, it had an original leader, but it died off. The last two years I tried to put up new leaders all of which haven't done well.

rick,

You say when you bought this conifer it didn't have a main leader. I doubt it died off. Was probably damaged by careless handling. I am sure now you will be more attentive, looking over your purchased because of all the knowledge you have accumulated over the last several years. Don't stress over it.

As I see it a main leader is not doable. Don't try to retrain what is left you will loose that also and have a 2 ft. instead of a 3 ft. 'Angel Falls'. All new growth in the turn up mode but only for short time.

Just leave it to sort itself out.

In time you won't be disappointed.

Show us a photo in a couple years.

Good luck.

Dave

At this point the only thing you can do is run a second piece of bamboo up next to one of the existing branches and training up those new candles. it will though always have a kink. It might look like a nice artistic form though. Don't try to straighten out those top branches, they will break.

hey rick ...

you stuck in a box????

lets look outside that box ...

go down a whorl ... grab one of those smaller ones.. and bind it to the old leader like a chinese womans stinkee old feet ...

in a year or two.. get rid of the whole old leader ..

do it fast.. before those new growth hardens up .. ...

some derivation of the link below ....

the suggestion that you can never make it taller is suspect ... you have the opportunity.. to become the expert ... and show them they were wrong .... or!!! ... tell them they were right ....

do take your time.. pulling it upright.. if it takes you a week of tying.. and re-tying.. so be it ... things break.. when you try to do it all at once ..... and dont worry about some little squiggle down there.. when the trunk is 6 inches thick.. it wont show ....

i bought my first pendula.. cheap.. because that is what the seller did ... a year or two prior ... and it is now 8 or nine feet tall.. and looks like cousin it ... lol ... [you know when that whole family started???? .. rotflmbo ...]

good luck ..

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

And while you're outside that box, as Ken suggests, don't think that you need to train the new leader perfectly strait up. Your tree is very young, by the time you stake it up to six or eight or twelve feet, the bottom (and your repair work) will be covered with up with plenty of foliage. You might even add some character by purposefully staking up with broad curving sweeps over the years. Outside the box is a good place to be. :^)

Thanks everyone... I'll experiment with it. Luckily this is one of those conifers that has an open look... it's not pyramid.

Ken - I have to love the way you compare trees to Chinese womens feet lol... Bending these branches up aren't a problem... they are very flexible. Each of the last couple leaders I tried to put up top I didn't have a problem with bending the branch. Actually, I didn't have to even bend it. I just took it by the tip of the branch, pulled it up and put a tie on it. I think that even though it looks good on the outside and it goes up without any force, something is still cracking on the inside causing it to die off. I could be wrong, but that's really the only think it can be.

If you look at the photo above, there is as new growth curving around right in front of the main leader. This is right next to and is actually touching the main leader. I wonder what it would look like years down the road if I just tied that to the main leader and kept it going up the pole.

If I can get it to 6-8 feet, then let it weep, the continued growth should cover any funny looking kinks in the trunk. If it doesn't work out as planned, I'm alright with it being 3' tall with a skirt. It's not something I'm stressing over at all, I was just out there yesterday and was wondering how to get it taller.

Did you check the damaged leaders for pine weevils? That's what it sounds like to me....

http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/whitepineweevil.html

Here is a link that might be useful: weevil

Do everything you can to keep it upright. They look so much better that way.

http://coniferlover.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/the-taller-the-better/

Jon, please for next time, put the link in the "optional link URL" and give it a name as well.
Thanks ;0)

Here is a link that might be useful: Ed, Conifer Lover

Wait a minute, I know that Ed Remsrola's face...

Thanks for posting that link... That's one magnificent pine! I put up a new leader on mine today. Instead of trying to bend the old growth up, I simply took a new branch that was growing very close to the main leader and tied it up. It's still at the very top so I won't loose any growth. After it grows up and fills out, you shouldn't notice the kink as long as this leader does ok.

Hi! there, i just brought home a pricey 5foot angel falls & like you the leader broke off. this is how it broke: the leader turned a number "7" instead of straight up so i tried to straighten it up but there goes the snap...ugh! i tried to re-attach it but i think its not working. so my question to you is - did you just leave the wound open with no protection & it just heals itself? and were you able to get a leader up? or did you just let it weep down? Thanks.