Basal shoot

Hi mates !
I attach a picture file of the Birch in my front-yard.
You can see that my Birch has a "Basal shoot" and looks like a sort of "shrub" since three main branches start from just a few inches above the ground.
I DO NOT LIKE SUCH A SHAPE AT ALL.
My question is:
is it possible to turn it into a "normal" single stem tree ???
If so, how do I manage that ?
If I cut two main branches of them, do I manage to obtain a single stem tree ?
Why my tree has such a shape ?
Does it depend on the kind of tree or does it depend on the way they grew / shoot it before planting it in my front-yard ???

Thanks !

 

Hi Maksim, I'm not 100% sure on this, but until someone who knows better comes along I'll give you my opinion.
Yes I think you can cut out the stems you dont want but its been like that for quite some time I would guess.
Some people like multiple stemmed trees like birch which are often grown for the appearance of the bark.
Birch bleeds badly if cut too late, so if you really want to do it I'd suggest early winter.
You would need to cut close to the main stem, but leave the collar so that the wound can heal properly.
Maybe do one stem next winter and the other the year after.

 

Hi maksim,

Well that's fair enough, but what do you expect? It's a tree that's naturally bound to grow anyway it can and wants.

Not really, but you can remove the stems you don't like and deal with the problems of even more regrowth and subsequent infection and decay later on.

Well yes, you will be left with a single stem, and two open wounds that your tree will not appreciate very much.

Because it's a tree. They do these things.

Normally a tree like this would have a dominant leader stem which would supress any other growth. Various things can damage the leader or prevent it from being dominant and other branches will grow strongly. It would have been better if the branch had been removed far earlier, as birch trees generally do not respond to pruning very well at all.

No probs.

 

Thank you for your opinion.
My view now is that I probably will not make the decision to cut two main branches out of the three ones.
Both because, as you let me fancy, a proper good result is not 100 % guarantee and because the remaining "stem" would be not exactly "straight" (and strong/healthy) as a native-single-stem-tree's one would be.
So, at the moment I think I'd better not to do any cut...

Regards !

 

Well, it is a matter of my personal taste.
Tastes are tastes...
According to my tastes (I am not supporting a scientific thesis nor an opinion at all) a tree MUST BE :D single-stem. Otherwise, I will call it "SHRUB"... :D
Still, my tastes tell me that the stem must be straight and strong...
I can tollerate that it can be a twin-stems... (as it may occur, for example, with some Platanus or Cedrus).
Sometimes, even tri-stems, anyway we are talking about stems with large cross-sections.
We are talkink about big, old trees.
As a least consideration, I must argue that it is easier to mow the lawn passing around a single stem rather than trying hard to pass around a sort of shrub with all its branches in the way :(.
...a matter of "tastes", as I said...

Thanks for your reply and regards !