I wouldn't cut them. Cherries and plums don't like it, and certainly not at this time of year. Plus, the tree never looks right without all of its stems intact. I would tie in the wayward branches, (there are some good, soft ties available), and keep the flowering potential to the max. It's Prunus 'Amanogawa', pretty soft pale pink flower, in masses, and good autumn colour, the leaves hanging slightly as they age, in yellows, oranges and reds. Phil

I have 2 Prunus 'Amanogawa one is upright and a beauty the other is arching and tending towards lopsided! I think its just a roguish one, which may be what yours is? If so, no amount of pruning (not recommended anyway) will make it stand upright. The young trees are very thin but as they mature they do begin to spread out to 3-4 metres.
I like my bendy one and prefer that to a band which may cause damage and the tree will probably revert when its removed?

in spring if you just want it a bit more full you could just take the growing tips out of it making it throw more branches but thats about it realy thow i am training a cherry with yellow fruit round my spring . thats worked as peple ask me what kind of climber it is . it mite be worth you looking at bonzie trees excuse my spelling as they use a lot of soft wire and tecknices for shaping there trees . if it has a tendancy to droop thow drc726 is right . my weeping cherry is my faverite . i also have a leggy copper cherry tree that ive gently bent round in a circle on itself creating a complete loop .wear the joint is i scraped the bark of both sides and taped it with electrical tape and now its throwing up loads of shoots and is fused together . im thinking of putting something like a nice stone in the circle when the tree is mature enough or i just mite leave it . take care bye for now .

Hi, Rogger!

I certainly wouldn't tie it up or put a band around it! Tying up fastigiate plants almost always does more harm than good in the long run. As soon as the tie breaks, the branch tends to fall out even farther, because being tied up weakens it. Putting a band around the entire tree not only is unsightly, but it will compound the problem, because it weakens all the branches that it comes in contact with.

Far better to cut the wayward branch at it's origin, or at a well-placed vertical side branch, at least 1/3 the diameter of the branch you are cutting. I would do this in late winter, before the sap rises, and seal the cut well immediately if borers are a problem in your area.

Good luck!

well its what i use that stops that as i said its electric tape so it has lots of give and works a treat and as you can see on the blog my front garden the plants are thriving wonderfully .

Sorry NP these are not supposed to droop unlike the weeping cherries, hence the question?
I went and looked at both of my Prunus 'Amanogawa today Rogger, the upright one (desirable) is only branching from the top of the trunk and is as straight as can be. The bendy one has branches from the graft upwards. The ones that grow low down from just above the graft to the trunk top I usually cut out as they appear but the larger bendy ones at the top I leave.
I think with all trees/plants some behave and some do their own thing? I have learned to love the bendy one too lol.
Interestingly the upright one is never troubled by black fly while all summer the bendy one was, no matter how much I watered it. So perhaps the non straight ones are ailing?

i completly agree drc lol i did say if they have a tendancy to bend over you cant do much about it and agreed with tug on that one .

More shade, too much fertilizer, boggy soil--all things that encourage "floppiness" in upright plants, and seem to attract aphids. I don't know which, if any, applies to Drc's, or if any apply to your's, Rogger!

Hi and thanks to all those that replied to my question. I will review the situation again next spring. As for the last comment, it is in full sun all the time, so that could be one problem. Not much I can do about that now!
Anyway, great forum for getting some expert opinions so many thanks again.

Regards, Rogger

your welcome roger full sun should be fine id of thaught .

Sorry, Rogger! I apparently wasn't entirely writing English--or its American facsimile! I meant that the tree might have been getting too much shade. Full sun is most likely what the tree wants in the UK. Too much sun would probably only be a problem in areas with truly hot summers, such as eastern Oregon, and then it wouldn't cause floppiness.

thats what i thaught thanx for telling us lol

Well, it should be in the right place then! OK, thanks for all the input anyway and I will look at it again in the spring to see what I can do to improve it. Perhaps I am expecting too much from it. I had hoped it was going to look like one of these Italian conifers, very slender, but it is a normal tree after all.

still be nice dont worry