Dieing tips on a 1 gallon tree. Do you prune it?

[F. Bennett]

I have a special tree that is heading downhill. The tips on 2 of the 3 branches are dead and I fear it will continue to kill the rest of the branch. Do you cut the dead section or leave it alone? I do see life on the thickest branch, which I'm hoping will continue to push buds. Thanks for any help!

-Is there any way to view the pics in full resolution? They are much larger than what I see after uploading.

[strudeldog]

I don't prune them back. I have tip die back like that on some. Mostly I believe was non-hardened when stored away. I don't think pruning back will stop it regardless as I doubt it is a disease. Is it too dry?

[F. Bennett]

Phil,

Thanks for the response. I have several trees that didn't fully harden and are coming back just fine. This one was actually fully hardened when it went dormant. I feel like it's been watered just right. I'm going to up pot it into a 5 gallon SIP in the next week or two. Maybe that will get it going in the right direction.

[Bijan]

I wish the pic sizes were larger on this forum.

In your 2nd pic it looks like there is a new bud pushing from the side. If so, leave the rest of it. I think the damaged part is a too far gone, but sometimes they surprise you. If the damage does not recover once you have a few weeks growth on the trees, prune it off.

[AscPete]

To view the picture at full size....on a PC

Start scrolling thru the album
Hover over your picture selection.
Right click the mouse and select "View Image"
The picture will be full size...

I typically remove the close internode spaced branches and prune the tips.
But I usually train the young cuttings as single stems which increases stem caliper faster and reduces the incidents of die back on smaller caliper limbs.
You can seal the pruned ends with pruning sealer to prevent dessication after you prune the tips. Good Luck.

[eboone]

Pete - that does not work that way for me. I am on Windows 7, using IE 10. When I right click my mouse over the image I do not get a "View Image" option. There are a number of greyed out options (not including "View Image") and some clickable options like "Save picture as..." , "Email picture" etc.

[Bevman]

I am using Windows Vista home premium and Firefox, and have the option to right click to view image. Once I do, I can left click and it gets bigger still.

[F. Bennett]

Thank you, gentlemen!

[Harborseal]

I wouldn't touch anything now. I'm not sure the tips are dead. If you want to know, scratch the bark near 1 tip and see if there's green underneath.

[F. Bennett]

Thanks Bob. It looks very similar to what another of my 1 gallons did last winter. It ended up dieing to the roots but came back from the dirt. I believe this one has a better chance of living though.