Redbuds tend to not have a main leader, but instead, many side-arching branches forming an overall mushroom shape when older. Mine (Oklahoma redbud) forked out a little higher, but here is what it became:

So the question is, what do YOU want? If you have room to let it spread I would leave it alone.

May I ask where you bought your tree? Was it local or did you order it? I want one but can't find one locally.

It's so cute! Lol

I got my 3 footer at a fancy farm market that has a small nursery selection. I;ve seen it advertised at bricks and mortar nurseries....check Rare Find Nursery and Sooner Farms. I don't remember if Rare Find does mail order. Excellent nursery, far from you however

I wonder if Lazy S has them. Receive teeny tiny starter plants.....in exchange for money.

I sell them. You could use subordinate pruning but not necessary.

You sell rising sun?

Carolina Girl I purchased mine online a few months ago online at MrMaple.com. Look under other plants. If it's not listed email them. They don't list all the non-maples on their site. 1 gallon pot with shipping $49. Here's a link MrMaple

Thanks to everyone else for the pruning advice.

Thanks for the tips. Broken Arrow has never shown up on any of my searches. Looks like they have a nice variety of trees. They're about an hour away from me so I'll go check them out. Thanks

that is kinda its normal growth pattern ...

i might.. get some PROPER STAKES ... and stake the longest one.. straight up ... but leave the other

hard to explain how.. not being there. ...

ken

Rebuds grow in all crazy ways and generally don't get big enough to cause much harm. FWIW I honestly don't know if I have seen one lose a branch from weather effects before borer damage or disease.

Some of mine I have limbed up. My neighbor has a beautiful vase shaped redbud. Just depends what fits with your vision.

Um Logan, 'Rising Sun' is a patented plant, you got all the legalities sorted to propagate and sell it as such? It's a no no if you don't...

I am not dumb enough to sell a patented plant without permission. The absolute only time I propagate patented plants without permission is if I am keeping them to myself.

"The absolute only time I propagate patented plants without permission is if I am keeping them to myself."

and

"I bought a 'rising sun' and will use it as what I call a "stock plant" to produce more for retail and wholesale."

One of these things is not like the other. You need to get your story straight.

"Alice laughed: "There's no use trying," she said; "one can't believe impossible things." "I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

I have propagated them with permission from monrovia. I sell them retail and to some smaller hardware stores.

"The absolute only time I propagate patented plants without permission is if I am keeping them to myself."

Isn't that similar to, "The only time I steal food from the convenient store is when I'm hungry and plan to eat it myself." Logan, I don't personally care when you propagate patented plants, but you don't seem to understand how the plant patent thing works.

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I disagree with many of the contributors to this thread about redbud's ability to straighten themselves out. I have hundreds of redbuds on my farm and have dealt with a number of them in people's landscape. Redbuds VERY FREQUENTLY suffer from damage and breakage due to their poorly formed branch crotch angles. Cercis canadensis is a relatively short-lived species of tree, and, IMO, a contributing factor is its poor branching and growth habit.

Ken suggested the possibility of staking the longest/largest branch and I think that is what I would likely do. There's no need to prune off the other branch, at this point. The one staked upright will become the leader and the other branch will naturally slow down. If it's still a problem in a year or so, then you can take action. Right now each of the two branches appear to contain at least one-third, if not more, of the tree's total foliage.

"I have propagated them with permission from monrovia."

Since Monrovia is not the patent-holder of this plant, I hardly think they are in the position to grant "permission" for propagation.

Something smells distinctly off about this and given all the many, many issues Logan has come to grief with regarding his posts, it only serves to damage whatever remaining credibility he has.

Personally, if he told me the sun was coming up tomorrow, I'd be highly skeptical. The intent may be good (may be NOT as well) but the execution sucks!!

I wasn't aware that monrovia isn't the patent holder. They told me I could propagate them.

It's not that simple. Many years ago in another life I had reason to propagate a patented plant, papers were signed, and when the season was over a total of plants sold and a royalty payment per plant was sent to the patent holder. All nice and legal, everyone happy.

I will try to find out who the actual patent holder is. They didn't sell that well anyways.

Logan, you're breaking US patent laws and I think you're doing it on purpose. You cannot propagate patented plants without purchasing from the patent holder the rights to do so. There are some pretty specific limitations regarding this privilege and it's not easy nor cheap.

When was the last time, if ever, that your nursery has been inspected by the NCDA&CS? If you sell, you've gotta be inspected.

It isn't a very large operation. Right now, I have redbuds, flowering dogwoods, multiflora rose, and purple gomphrena for sale. I am just now starting plants for next year, which would be nandina 'firepower' and liriope 'variegata' at the moment. I am looking into the inspections for next year because I simply don't have the money. To clarify, my plants are grown from home (while I do have a greenhouse) but I certainly wouldn't call it a nursery.

Since your in NC take a trip on over and talk to Tony Avent Im sure he can set you on the right path..selling thousands of patented plants every year he might even give you copys of the stacks of paper work to go along with them.

Right now each of the two branches appear to contain at least one-third, if not more, of the tree's total foliage.

==>>> thx brandon ... yes.. every leaf is a food making machine ... and with such a young tree .. cutting off 1/3 of them.. might slow down maturation ...

hence the idea.. to leave them there for now.. once you establish dominance of one .. then the other will be sacrificed in a few years .. as you start to develop a main trunk with some height ...

but the bottom line ... there is no hurry about the trunk .. lets just get it straight for now .. we can start limbing up in a few years ...

i often tell peeps.. you begin pruning with a goal ... and you work towards that goal.. but in TREE TIME... which is many .. many years ... there is no instant gratification in trees.. nor really.. in pruning ...

ken

Thanks for all the tips. I staked it up to see what it would look like. This tree is a fast grower and it's about 5' tall now! I won't prune anything for awhile until it gets established and takes shape.