A question about a tree for someone

15 years ago

Hello,

I don't frequent this board, but was asked a question today by my 81 year old uncle who lives in Maine.

He said about two years ago, a small tree sprouted up in his yard and he decided to put a little wire cage type thingy around it so no one would mow it down. Two years later, it is only 12-14" tall and has one big leaf! He said it looks like a Maple tree, and he wants to know if he is supposed to prune the tree in spite of its size.

I don't have a picture, sorry. Any ideas if he should leave it alone or maybe it's not going to ever amount to anything, in which case should he just uproot?

Mari

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Comments (2)

diene
15 years ago
Hello Mari;
Not sure what it is, I have many maple seedlings and they have multiple leaves, so do my oaks but my feeling is that he likes it and it gives him something to wonder about so I would encourage him to keep it.
It may just need a bit more time to get established and it could be one of the neatest trees around.
Sorry I cannot be of more help.
diene
adirondackgardener
15 years ago
Mari,

I wouldn't prune a sapling unless it showed signs of putting out multiple trunks.

I'd suggest your uncle put a little mulch around it to keep the weeds down, mix a little compost in the soil to feed the roots and wait a bit.

When he gets old, he may have a tree towering over him. Something I'd look forward to.

Wayne
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