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I bought a couple of dwarf cherry trees which I put in as a cordon at the edge of our garden. They just consist of a single stem - which has been cut off at the top, with no side branches.

They've been in a couple of years so I would have expected them to form side branches by now, but they're just a pair of sticks, with huge clusters of leaves and cherry blossom tight to the main stem. Why have they not grown branches?

I'm thinking next year I should rub off all of the buds except where I want them to grow branches, and maybe then they will sprout. Alternatively should I cut the main stem above a bud in the direction I want them to grow? Or do I just need to sit tight and be patient?

Robert Frost
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1 Answers1

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Did you buy mini patio cherry trees? These are sold with a single stem, and often retain the single stem growth habit for the first 3 or 4 years, longer in pots. They will eventually branch a bit, but they do tend to remain fairly vertical in appearance - some care information here http://www.vanmeuwen.com/fruit-and-vegetables/fruit-trees/stone-fruit-trees/mini-fruit-trees-cherry-plum/69141VM but it only recommends light pruning. Certainly, if this is what you bought, you should not rub out buds in order to get them to branch, they're intended to grow this way.

Bamboo
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