You can prune the shoots off whenever they appear. The sooner the better.

Thanks for posting this. I had the same question. So I'm supposed to trim the branch on the bottom that's growing upwards?

hi desert ... imo.. you dont have enough leaves.. to convert sunshine into food to grow a big root mass ... to be cutting any of them off right now ...

think in tree time.. decades... whats your hurry???

OP .. james... same with you.. you just planted them a few months ago ... how about we grow some roots.. and get the plants established ... before you start canopy reduction ...

im curious as to size.. a pic might really help ..

to both of you.. there is little instant gratification with trees... err towards giving relative babes.. more time ... to settle down.. and grow some roots.. most say.. the tree below the ground is twice what you see above ground ... when it ESTABLISHED ... you know what you planted.. and i am sure it wasnt such ...

ken

Yeah never go pruning right after you plant. Let the tree get established. A red bud will grow quickly, so start gently maybe next year after dormancy. Red buds have a crazy growth pattern - branches form a series of overlapping arches. Nothing is straight, you get weird unhealthy crotches.. blah. You can kind of tame the madness upward, but a redbud will never have a classic tree shape.

Looks like the whole pot was buried. :?