I Have A Monkey Puzzle Tree In A Container In Southwestern Ontario Which Is Moved Indoors In Winter. I Want To Keep It Small But Am Unsure If Branch Ends Can Be Clipped To Control Growth. This Tree Came From Bc. So Information Here Is Not Available.
They can be clipped, but you will get ugly brown tips, and lose the nice symmetrical shape of the branches. Any regrowth will be at odd angles to the branch. A maybe better option is to let it grow naturally, and then when it gets too large, cut it down completely to a stump, and let it start over from a stump sprout. It is one of the few conifers that will re-grow like this (most conifers won't).
Yes -- one Araucaria that I have had growing outdoors for the past three years finally lost its top, but its sprouting new growth from the stump. To me that shows impressive determination to survive. It will probably never grow much above the winter snow cover, but I'm still curious just exactly what it will do. PS. my indoor-wintering Araucaria is also sprouting growth at the base -- in addition to the normal branching and leader growth.... In fact the number of base sprouts seems rather excessive -- I may have to remove most of them eventually.... Any tips on this Michael ? (Thnx)
Hi Jaro, You could try cutting them off, put some rooting hormone on the base, and pot them up with bottom heat and regular misting on the foliage. They should root, and being erect growth, will make good new trees.
