I have a Crimson King Maple where the middle branch has taken off over the last few weeks. It’s almost comical how fast it has grown. Any ideas why or if there is something I should be concerned about?
Thanks!

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Young tree growth spurt. Noting to worry about.

King of the cul-de-sac phalic identifier. Keep it and be proud.

I think your tree is giving me the finger.

Not an Arborists. It's doing just fine. That is normal for many trees at that age and older. They can grow a lot in the long days of Summer if they got water and a somewhat established root system.

quote:

Originally posted by whanson_wi:
I think your tree is giving me the finger.

OP is setting us up.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:

quote:

Originally posted by whanson_wi:
I think your tree is giving me the finger.

OP is setting us up.

That tree has potential if he wants to startle the neighbors with a bit of subtle sculpting...

quote:

Originally posted by gearhounds:

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:

quote:

Originally posted by whanson_wi:
I think your tree is giving me the finger.

OP is setting us up.

That tree has potential if he wants to startle the neighbors with a bit of subtle sculpting...

then put a red bulb in your over the door light to flip on at night.

Lead branch, I think it’s called. Trim it back into the fold.

It’s para’s, “Thumbkin” where is tallman? Here I am, here I am.

How tall/big do you want that tree to get? If you trim it to match the others, the others will grow with it and you will get a bushy, lower tree. If you want a taller, bigger tree, let it grow and trim off the lowest limbs, maybe the lowest two or three each year. The whole “center” of the tree will move up.
Later, as the tree gets bigger, trim out the inner limbs that clutter around the center. This will let the trunk grow stronger without a zillion little limbs coming off it.

Being on a corner you have an opportunity of having a spectacular “landmark” tree for the neighborhood. Maple? Nice trees.

I think one of the mistakes people make is not looking ahead to what it can/will become. Progressively clearing lower limbs when young will give you a tall, smooth trunk in future years. Not something with large limb wounds that take a decade to heal. Ditto with clearing interior limbs - with trimming you’ll get several large, strong limbs off the trunk toward the bottom. A healthy tree not susceptible to heavy winds breaking the cluttered cluster off. Later, when mature, the little stuff at the top and center can be ignored.

Don't cut the leader unless you want a bush. Google "apical dominance". Every tree in my neighborhood is messed-up. The nurseries "head" the young trees to force them to branch. It makes them look like a tree but messes them up. If you get a tree from a nursery that has been headed, you need to prune it to re establish a "leader" so that it will grow properly.

quote:

Originally posted by bob ramberg:
Don't cut the leader unless you want a bush. Google "apical dominance". .

This.

They don't replace that key bud in the central trunk. Snip it, and that's the end of the vertical growth of that tree's central trunk.

For ever.