# Pruning a mulberry tree - Advice please



## [email protected] (Sep 4, 2011)

Hi guys,

Looking for advice on pruning this mulberry tree.

The red lines indicate where I would like to take it down to, though I understand that this may have to be done 

over 2 years.

Thanks for looking,

John


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## ChippersTreeSvc (Sep 4, 2011)

Is this your home or a customers? If it was my home, i would just the whole tree down. Seems like the mulberry is in a really tight area and the height that you want it brought to is consider topping. Will do more harm than good.


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## no tree to big (Sep 4, 2011)

if you cut on the red line all you will have left is a buch of logs... no leafy matter at all weather you do it all at once over 2 years or 10. if there is a reason you need it down to that point you might aswell take it all the way down otherwise your going to end up with an ugly POS in a few years after it starts sprouting suckers plus in that tight of an area I would not like to have a mulberry tree growing there them guys can grow big fast and i could only imagine the pain in the arse it would be to remove once bigger so my advise cut down and replace with something that doesn't grow big


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## [email protected] (Sep 5, 2011)

ChippersTreeSvc said:


> Is this your home or a customers? If it was my home, i would just the whole tree down. Seems like the mulberry is in a really tight area and the height that you want it brought to is consider topping. Will do more harm than good.



The tree is at a place where I volunteer, so you could say it is a customers.

The management commitee would like the tree to stay as it produces fruit every year and provides shade.

The reason for pruning back behind the vertical line is so the fruit does not fall on the path which then needs cleaning on a daily basis.

Any suggestions on how to prune the tree back to a reasonable height without harming it?

Thanks guys for taking the time to reply,

John


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## treeoperations (Sep 5, 2011)

you need to go with some BASAL pruning with that mongrel mate.


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## chad556 (Sep 6, 2011)

That would be my plan of attack. Get rid of that whole branch that hangs over the path. If you feel bold you could probably get rid of it this year, that would greatly diminish the messy fruit problem.

Is there any reason why the tree cannot grow tall? If it can then i would let it grow up to reach the sunlight and just worry about keeping the canopy narrow so it fits the space.

I wouldn't get much more aggressive than what I drew out or the health of the tree will suffer. Unless of course you just cut it right down to the stump :msp_tongue: Good luck!


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## beastmaster (Sep 13, 2011)

As far as mulberrys go thats not a bad specimen. You don't want to cut it back that hard, you'll end up with a tangled mess in no time at all. Mulberrys take Pollarding well, but in that tight space and the structure of the tree, it, wouldn't be a good option, plus its high maintenance. I agree with just letting her grow upward, or removing it if its to big of a problem. I am thinking people would miss it if it was gone. beastmaster


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