Plant Doctor Archive

Two-stemmed pine

Question I HAVE a Norfolk pine which was 80cm tall when sheep nibbled its top off. Nothing happened for a while, but then it started growing like mad and now has two tips. They have already grown about 15cm and are starting to develop the next layer of branches. Should I cut off one of the tips or should I leave it alone?

Answer  IF you do nothing it’s quite likely one of the stems will become stronger than the other and will eventually dominate and take over the role as the main trunk. However, you do sometimes see Norfolk pines with more than one main stem, so if you want to make sure it grows with a single, straight trunk, cut off one of the shoots and, for the next year or two, remove any further growths that appear from around the cut area.

I hope you’ve allowed plenty of space for it to grow — Norfolk pines are huge!

Weekend Gardener, Issue 191, 2005, Page 29