Dawn redwood direction?

[Boosted]

I picked up a few Dawn Redwood groves before winter. Come spring I intend to separate and plant the trees in kind baskets individually to thicken and grow. That leads me to my question:

Several of the trees have been trunk chopped a few times and they are popping new leaders like crazy. Should I let all of these new leaders grow for now or cut back this winter to select one? I’m struggling to understand the direction the growers were taking with these trees.

 

[Coppersdad]

I picked up a few Dawn Redwood groves before winter. Come spring I intend to separate and plant the trees in kind baskets individually to thicken and grow. That leads me to my question:

Several of the trees have been trunk chopped a few times and they are popping new leaders like crazy. Should I let all of these new leaders grow for now or cut back this winter to select one? I’m struggling to understand the direction the growers were taking with these trees.

In my experience, these trunks will thicken faster and taper the way they should with a single leader. Also, please consider taper and the current bulge you have on the trunk at the site of the chop. I'll happily bow to the advice of others who comment, but if these were my trees, I'd chop again just below the enlargement and start with a single leader.
Congrats. You have a great opportunity here. Of course, the quickest way to thicken those trunks is to plant the trees in the ground. If you must use containers, this is one species that needs a good deal of water as well as drainage. ( With my Dawn Redwood seedlings, I'm repotting them every single year in increasingly larger containers to give the huge root mass room to grow. I can't plant in the ground.) Some years, it's only a slip pot but a bigger pot.

PS: tell us your location/ USDA zone. Your climate can help folks give you advice.
Oh! and welcome to crazy!

 

[Boosted]

In my experience, these trunks will thicken faster and taper the way they should with a single leader. Also, please consider taper and the current bulge you have on the trunk at the site of the chop. I'll happily bow to the advice of others who comment, but if these were my trees, I'd chop again just below the enlargement and start with a single leader.
Congrats. You have a great opportunity here. Of course, the quickest way to thicken those trunks is to plant the trees in the ground. If you must use containers, this is one species that needs a good deal of water as well as drainage. ( With my Dawn Redwood seedlings, I'm repotting them every single year in increasingly larger containers to give the huge root mass room to grow. I can't plant in the ground.) Some years, it's only a slip pot but a bigger pot.

PS: tell us your location/ USDA zone. Your climate can help folks give you advice.
Oh! and welcome to crazy!

Thank you for your advice! I updated my profile with my location and USDA zone(Indiana/6a). Yeah, in the ground is not an option so I will be using large pond baskets with plenty of airflow.

Heard on trunk swell/reverse taper - that was my worry with the multiple leaders coming from the same spot

I bought from Brussel’s and was shocked at the state of the trees