Mayhaw or Hackberry for a forest?

[Brian Van Fleet]

How do you plan to avoid this look over time?

 

[Cajunrider]

How do you plan to avoid this look over time?
View attachment 438865

I hope not. From the top it looks like this. I am also planning to allow a few water shoots to develop and fill in. The big one will be encouraged to grow big while the out side ones will be prune to attain the triagle from all direction. Some under brush vegetation is also in the plan.

 

[Cajunrider]

 

[Cajunrider]

All 9 trees are leafing out.

 

[Cajunrider]

 

[Cajunrider]

 

[Cajunrider]

 

[Cajunrider]

 

[Cajunrider]

The forest is filled out and looking really good. Now come the next question: how do we train the forest? Do I do branch selection and wire every tree? I am leaning toward clip and grow. What's your thought?

 

[Cajunrider]

I think the primary task ahead of me is to manage the newly grown foliage to make sure that the ones with more aggressive growth do not crowd out and kill the slower growing ones.
While thinning out my friend's Mayhaw grove, I see the same thing. I don't yet have a plan for how I will train this forest nor do I have a vision for each tree in this forest. However, at least I will manage the branches and foliage to make sure all will get the amount of sunshine they need.

 

[Cajunrider]

Looking down from the top. The foliage is thick enough now. It is almost time to work on them. I’ll give them another month ti get their roots to bind together.