Question
This plant has gotten too leggy. It is 12 ft tall but only 2 ft wide.  I need to trim it down so it won't blow over in a wind.  Every time I try to cut it back it dies at the stem and branches out somewhere below it or dies down.  The top portion I cut off; can it be rerooted.  Thanks for your help.

Answer
Connie,

It is the nature of these trees to get leggy, in nature they become 50+ foot tall trees. If you put it in a larger pot it would eventually sprout side shoots and look like an oak tree.

If you wat to prune it as you said I reccommend that you air layer it. That would be rooting the top portion of the tree before you actually cut it off. Then the lower portion of the tree may also grow a new top.

Complete instructions on air layering including drawings can be found at this website:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/ornamentals/airlayer/airlayer.html

Good luck.

Darlene