Should I cut off new shoots of a honey locust?

Question

I have new honey locust trees that I planted last fall. They are only a little over 7 feet tall, not very mature at all. Should I cut off the new shoots on the trunk? How do I know how low down on trunk I should let new shoots grow, etc., or do I just cut off all new shoots?

Answer 1

You talking about those little fuzzies that appear? Actually they may be helpful to the tree if you don't let them become branches. In a young tree these sprouts will help develop trunk width faster. Let them grow a season then remove during dormancy. Don't let them grow more than a season least they think they are branches and you have a bit of a "discussion" with them.

Of course if you need lateral branches, then you must let some develop, but you'll probably only need 7-10 or so good strong, well spaced later branches. All those fuzzies aren't needed.

In a bigger tree, say 12 feet tall or more, I would remove them as they appear. They are not needed.......usually. .

If you want one to become a branch.......for whatever reason, it should not be lower than 8 feet from the ground. This allows head room under the branch.....remembering it gets wider as it ages. So since your current tree is only 7 feet tall, let's get some vertical growth before we start worrying about lateral branches.