Japanese plum cutback

My Japanese plum has really enjoyed the warm weather this spring. The many long shoots emerging from the first branch have given the tree a rangy appearance. It was time for some cutback.

Japanese plum – May 2011

I reduced the longest of the shoots and wired what was left of the new growth. This will give shape to the naturally straight plum growth and encourage some of the weaker shoots to grow stronger.

After cutback and wiring

I didn’t remember seeing such long shoots last year so I checked my photos to see what the tree looked like last spring. While healthy, the tree lacked long shoots, likely because I repotted the tree last year but not this year (see “Repotting a Japanese plum” for details).

I worked on the tree at a recent BIB workshop. Behind me, a tiny observer watched Jeff wire new shoots on a large bougainvillea. Cute little guy.

Frog hiding in Bougainvillea