How do I prune a young weeping cherry tree to encourage fullness?

Question

I have a two year old weeping cherry and have "heard" that I need to prune it to avoid it becoming tall and thin-how and when do I do this? Also, what will stop japanese beetles from destroying it in the summer? I have tried Seven and other products?

Answer 1

If you want the "head" to become wider cut some of the weeping branches at outward facing buds on the top where they start to branch. When the new branch comes out it shoots out and then down.

Be very careful with pruning, better to take some branches off gradually than to rush in and ruin the shape. Prune in winter. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Although the tree is grafted, the upper weeping portion is also a cherry (member of the family Prunus). When removing suckers from the rootstalk (those that grow from below the graft), I've found that tearing them away makes a scar that resists new suckering. It's important to get them while they are still very young. I find that pruning them just encourages more sucker growth. As far as pruning the tops of the plant goes, you can do it now (and bring the branches inside, and put in water to force them), or you can wait until just after blooming.

Answer 3

I would seriously discourage you from touching that tree. Weeping cherries have their own innate structure. Given time, they will fill in and fill out. Just be patient...time will do the job better than you can.

Sorry, can't help with the beetles - we live too far north. Global warming may bring them to us next year, though.