What goals do u have with pruning?

Right bow I am thinking in fall you can see crossing banches easily and go for those?

My natural grown redbuds all pick shape ofir own and they typically resist formal training.

It just looks like two differnt trees to me. The top is growing up and the bottom is draping down. I was wondering if cutting the long top branches back a bit would make it look better. I am ok with leaving it to its own if that's what's best for the tree.

The only problem with leaving it to continue as is would be if the lower section is grafted onto the top of the trunk, with the upper part being sprouts from the trunk - get inside the dome and look at the stems to see if that might be the case.

But absolutely don't do any pruning except to remove dead growth until spring. Wrong time of year now to prune.

There is no graft between the lower and upper. Some of the same branches that are growing up are on the same main branch with ones that are going down. I guess this must be because the uppers get more sunlight??

I any case, I will reassess in the spring. Thanks for the info!

There is no graft between the lower and upper.

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im not so sure about that.. as to my eye.. you clearly have 2 different trees on the same trunk ... get in there and snap some pix for us ...

or maybe even better.. get more pix.. after leaf fall .. it isnt hard to tell the difference between a weeping branch and not.. even dormant ...

pruning need not go beyond pruning out damaged or crossing limbs ... but after that.. you need to have a goal.. and once you can tell us what the goal is.. then you just prune to accomplish said goal ...

its your tree.. do whatever you want to it.. they arent that easy to kill ...

btw ... when planted.. it was purple???? ..most likely.. root stock is NOT purple... ergo.. prune or mark the tree when half is purple.. and half isnt ... and then prune out the green ...

only a fool would ruin a tree with purple root stock.. to graft a green tree on it.. eh??

ken

The tree starts out more purple and then changes to green by mid-summer. Here is a picture from this past June.

Same coloration throughout supports it all being one kind. Again the structural differences you are seeing are merely older vs. newer. And if you go in and starting cutting back or removing the newer you will be interfering with the specimen's natural development.

Rory, in the second picture I see what you are talking about better, maybe the color contrast helps.

Far as what to do, thats interesting and I've noticed it on several species of trees.

Just me, but I kinda like it with its layering-like branching.

If you don't like its spreading out so far, you can trim back somewhat the furthest-out branches. But I'd would wait for late winter/early spring to do any of that.