I'm a novice in the garden and this is my first go at JM's. I have a young Ukigumo already and picked up another for my dad for fathers day. While at the nursery we saw a beeeeeautiful example of what this tree can look like with proper care and tending. The first two pics attached show the example tree at the nursery. My tree is very slender and tall and not at all bushy, but has great color (IMO) for the leaves. The other young tree we picked up for my dad has stockier/denser growth but the leave color is all off. It's my understanding that over-fertilization and/or a fresh transplant can cause this rapid growth and undesirable coloration so I'm not too concerned about that. I am assuming that if we transplant it for my dad this year and don't over-fertilize next spring the leaves will pull out like my current youngster. Is this correct? My last question is about pruning. I prefer that stockier, fuller look of the tree we picked up for my dad. Can I achieve this on mine through pruning? Thanks!
You are primarily correct on your assessment of variegation and pruning. However, your tree will bush out a little on its own without pruning in time. I prefer to shape my young trees by focusing on the structure of the branches and allow the tree to fill in on its own later. They are a bit awkward when they send out long shoots like that, but the ends of those shoots tend to bush out a bit more than the middle, which leads to that layered habit that you see on the specimen from the nursery.
If it were my tree I would personally trim the one side branch back (I would wait until the summer resting period starts in late may or june). I would leave the leader and let it grow a year more before I trim again.
sorry if this is a dumb question but does pruning the side branch back mean take it all the way back to the main leader so the leader is the only one left? I'm just trying to envision how far back to trim.
I would trim it back leaving 2 bud pairs or less. You will have to make a judgment call on whether or not to remove the whole branch or not. Cutting it all the way back will encourage a single leader tree up until the upper portion of the other shoot, where it might branch out to have multiple leaders at a higher point. If you don't trim it all the way back (leaving 2 bud pairs) it will probably send out a pair of new smaller leaders from that point (thus making a multi branched tree from the base of the tree). Those would probably have to be trimmed back or trained later to keep the tree in balance. Pruning JMs is both a science and an art. Aesthetic pruning such as this is highly dependent on what you want the end product to look like. Keep in mind that the new structural growth will come primarily from the ends of the dominant shoots. Also keep in mind that you can always remove the branch later if you are uncertain, but once it is gone you can't put it back (unless you are a darn good grafter :D ).
The leaf color of your fathers is from being in full sun...I have one of mine in full sun which has that same color while another is in shade and is white..You can trim it however you want but i would prob wait till winter. Your fathers in general has an older root stock ..Full sun or not it's expected to be more full and dense.
Hi Niroha, I have two of these trees. I live in N. California and get alot of heat and sun. Last year, I decided to plant a bunch of JM's - not really paying alot of attention to what shouldn't go in the sun. As a result, by mistake I ended up planting a Ukigumo in a spot that gets morning sun for a few hours, and then blazing hot afternoon sun from 2-7pm. Being lazy as I am :) after I realized my mistake, I really had no where else to plant the Ukigumo, so I just left it where it was and figured I would see just how well it would do before I had to dig it up. Surprizingly, it made it through the summer, and there was a week of 108+ during the end of summer. It got a little burned, but it made it. This spring I got another one, and I'm keeping it in the shade :) Here are two pictures of Ukigumo; the first gets full hot sun and the second only partial morning sun. Its a great illustration of how sun can make them look like two different species.
