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Monkey Puzzle Tree
Does anyone know if it is possible to prune a monkey puzzle tree. My father has one that is planted in a raised bed at the side of his bungalow. Although he is keen to keep the tree I think that it could end up causing damage to the bungalow or its foundations. Any advice on this would be great. Thanks. Helen
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As far as I know. they don't take kindly to pruning & should really be kept to a minimum. How close is it to the house? They are slow growing, but they do get huge & if too close will definitely cause a problem.
there's no place for a giant tree in a small garden. It has to go sooner or later
In the sticks near Peterborough
How old is the tree? There are 2 phases, juvenile and adult. Adult look symmetrical and umbrella like, juvenile (my fav) is less symmetrical like and shrub like.
You can prune Monkey Puzzle trees, you are advised not too (unless it is dying back and gone brown) as it affects the symmetry of the tree and it then looks lopsided. You can remove lower branches to make room (they will naturally fall off in time). Some people remove the growing points at the end of the branched to limit growth.
If you take the leader out to keep the tree small does work in keeping it smaller as long as it has not reached adult phase but even then I think it is only a matter of time that you think it looks odd and take it out anyway.
Thanks for your replies. I'll take a photo to show the proximity in relation to the house. It is very close