I’ve been curious, for the last month or so, if my ume was planning to drop its leaves this winter.
Ume with green leaves in December
Upon taking a closer look this week, I noticed that the lowest branch had lost all of its leaves.
The lower branch after losing its leaves
Although it’s not surprising that different parts of trees can drop leaves at different times, I found this interesting because the lower branch blooms and the upper branches don’t.
The upper branches also ramify better than the lower branch. Here’s the tree after removing the leaves.
Branch density is best on the upper branches
The only difference between the top and bottom branches is that the bottom branch is the younger than the others. Neither branch is grafted.
I pruned the tree from top to bottom by thinning crowded areas and shortening the longer shoots.
After cutback – 12″ tall, 21″ wide
I’m tempted to start grafting the tree again in hopes of seeing more flowers, but will hold off for another year while I work on improving the branches.
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