I bought a house that came with Globe Catalpa trees. The prior owner insisted I should cut of all the branches every year after it had gone dormant. That seemed like an absurd and stressing thing to do to a tree, but I followed their advice and it did grow healthy and the same size as the year before.
Is this really a recommended pruning plan for this type of tree? Is it sane to cut all the branches off of a small tree?
Is there a way I could prune it instead that would be healthier for the tree and encourage upward growth? For example pruning only the lower branches?
I would love to allow the tree to grow as large as it wants, and grow out a larger canopy. But to do that I need the bottom of the canopy to be 2-4 feet higher. Right now if I were to not prune it at all within 1-2 years it will fully obstruct a walking path for anyone over 4 feet tall.