I have a jacaranda sapling out the front and my mental picture is of a lovely
cool green canopy over our driveway, well, in a few years, it's only 1.5m
high. Except that we have a small problem. My Dopey (if Dear) Husband has
hit it with the whippersnipper a few times, and we now have a number of shoots
rising from the base, I presume as a result of damage to the collar.

I feel I should remove these new shoots, or the tree will eventually split off
at the base. The question is: which trunk should I leave? One of the new
shoots is growing strongly and actually looks in better nick than the original
main trunk.

Any thoughts or experience out there?

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"...children should continue to be breastfed... for up to two years of age
or beyond." -- Innocenti Declaration, Florence, 1 August 1990

"Chookie" wrote in message
news:ehrebeniuk-BD52E4.16230909042003@news...
I have a jacaranda sapling out the front and my mental picture is of a
lovely
cool green canopy over our driveway, well, in a few years, it's only 1.5m
high. Except that we have a small problem. My Dopey (if Dear) Husband
has
hit it with the whippersnipper a few times, and we now have a number of
shoots
rising from the base, I presume as a result of damage to the collar.

I feel I should remove these new shoots, or the tree will eventually split
off
at the base. The question is: which trunk should I leave? One of the new
shoots is growing strongly and actually looks in better nick than the
original
main trunk.

Any thoughts or experience out there?


If the main tree is still looking quite healthy then keep that main
trunk/leader, and get rid of all these new shoots.
Essentially the whipper snipper could have ring barked it but if it happened
that long ago that big shoots are coming off from it, and the main trunk is
still alive, then it won't die now. A ringbarked tree will start dying
almost immediately. By that, I mean give it a week or 2, and it should be
dead.
I wouldn't use one of these shoots as the main leader, as they will never be
as strong as the original trunk. Not a good thing near a driveway :-(

Good luck

--
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--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"...children should continue to be breastfed... for up to two years of age
or beyond." -- Innocenti Declaration, Florence, 1 August 1990

Hi,

It just sounds like the wounding of the bark has triggered the dormant buds
to shoot. I would say that if the major trunk looks relatively healthy I
would stick with that. Side shoots are rarely stronger than the main trunk
and if you get rid of them the main trunk will thank you as it wont be
diverting nutrients to the side shoots

Hope this has helped

David