I live in north Florida. Late last Fall, I planted a small (4-5 foot tall) Redbud tree. This Spring when everything else stated leafing out this Redbud did nothing. Even its branches at the top were brittle and would snap right off. Despite this I kept up the regular waterings, but finally after a couple more weeks I decided it was time to replace it. Just as I was about to dig it up, I noticed some small leaves poking out from the trunk near ground level so I decided to let it go a little longer. Now, almost a month later I have:
- Small branches near ground level growing out of the [original] trunk.
- Three shoots coming up from out of the ground _right_ next to the trunk.
The branches coming out of the trunk are now about a foot long. The shoots coming up from out the ground are about 2 foot tall.
There are no leaves/branches forming any higher on the original trunk than about a foot from the ground -- The rest of the tree is completely bare.
Should I let this thing grow? Will it form into a real tree? Should I just cut down the shoots? Or should I put it completely out of its misery and chop the whole thing down?
What do you say?
Patrick