Question
QUESTION: The tree expert is on vacation but I thought you may be able to answer my question. I have a little Harry Lauder's Walking Stick tree which I planted last spring. How do I recognize suckers on this tree?   Now that the leaves have dropped I can see that there are three new branches a different color from the rest and not quite as curly, but they are not coming from the base. I am reluctant to cut them off since they have grown quite long and have new buds and catkins on them, and they also give the tree balance on the side they are growing, but on the other hand if they are alien branches perhaps they should be removed. What would you suggest please, and if they are to be removed when is the best time to do it? I live in Alabama.

ANSWER: Hello Patty

What a lot of names this plant has!  It's 'proper' name is Corylus avellana 'Contorta'! You already know one of its popular names - the other is the 'corkscrew hazel'.

Firstly - what you have are definitely not suckers - they usually grow from the base of the plant, but can also appear some distance away.

I think what you are seeing may be 'reversion'.  That can happen with a plant which has been bred to show specific characteristics - in this case the distinctive twisting of the stems.  If the 'new' stems that you have noticed are very obviously different from all the others (color and twisting, for instance), that could be an indication of reversion.  

The other factor is, of course, the appearance of the leafs.  I'd suggest that in the spring you take particular notice of the differences between the leafs on the 'new' stems and on the old stems.  A big difference in, say, size and color, would just about confirm that the 'new' stems are rogues and need to be removed.  To do that you should cut them off as close as possible to the main stems to which they are attached.

If the difference in the appearance of the leafs isn't obvious, it may just be that you shrub is 'filling out' - getting bigger and fuller.

Reverted stems are usually much more vigorous than their host, growing faster and thicker than the rest of the plant - (another pointer for you to look for) -  so you will have to keep a close eye on your corkscrew hazel, and remove any suspect stems as soon as you see them.

I do hope the above information will be helpful.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your detailed response Gill.  When is the best time to remove these branches? It will really hurt me to do it as this is such a little tree and I desperately want it to grow into a showpiece; but one of the new branches definitely looks much straighter than the rest and as you stated, these new branches look stronger and of a more vigorous growth so I suspect surgery will be necessary to maintain the novelty of this very attractive and unusual tree.

Answer
Hello again Patty

The best time to prune out the suspect stems is during the dormant period, that is now to early spring.  This means that the plant is not in active growth and the sap is not rising - therefore the plant wont 'bleed'.

Don't worry about your tree being small - it will grow!

Oddly, if you want the thicken up the growth on one side of a shrub it is often better to cut back some of the growth on that side.  It might be better to wait until the early spring to do that and at the same time give the plant a good feed with a general purpose liquid fertilizer to 'kick start' it into growth.

Good luck!