Chinese Flame Tree - side shoots?

Lincoln, CA(Zone 9b)

I have a Chinese Flame Tree (Koelreuteria bipannata) planted a year ago here in Lincoln, CA. It came limbed up pretty high, about 10 feet above ground. There's evidence that the nursery had removed off the laterals all the way up the trunk.

Other than just above ground level a few inches there is no other sprouting. Can I expect side shoots below the main fork in the future? In my case it would help in giving more privacy and also protection from the western sun.

Dublin, CA(Zone 9a)

Sometimes where a branch was cut off you'll get a number of sprouts coming out from around the cut, but if they pruned it correctly then that shouldn't happen. If you do get sprouts coming out, they'll tend to be weak and at a bad angle so you probably wouldn't want to keep them. If the pruning was done a while ago (more than a year) and nothing's sprouted there then it's probably not going to. I think to give you protection from the sun you just need the tree to continue to grow how it is, as the canopy gets bigger and wider I think you'll get the sun protection you want. A tree that's only been planted for a year isn't going to provide much shade unless it was a mature tree transplanted from somewhere else, and since it sounds like you got it from a nursery it's far from mature so just give it time. For privacy, there are probably better solutions than a tree, shrubs/vines would probably work better for that purpose anyway.

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