Sacrifice Branches on Austrian Pine

Globalist1789

Hello Everyone,



I have an Austrian Black Pine (3.5 feet tall with 1 ½ inch base) I’m letting the apex and the lowest branches grow freely. My question is about sacrifice branches. Do you only leave one? At the lowest point on the tree there are 3 branches that come out near each other. Only one MIGHT make it into the final design. To thicken the trunk is it best to cut the other 2 off or leave them? There is quite an inverse taper where all these branches come out.



I’m torn between leaving all 3 branches and carving out the inverse taper when the time comes or leaving one branch and hoping the taper mends itself.



Suggestion?



M.

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darrellw

A picture might he helpful, but if one of the them may be a final branch, you should start training that one now. Leave one as a sacrifice, and remove the other. That should help minimize the trunk swelling you are seeing by having three branches from the same whorl growing unrestrained. The combination of letting the top grow free (to thicken the entire trunk) and a single sacrifice (to thicken below that branch) should help outgrow the reverse taper.