Do I need to prune Autumn Blaze tree?

10 years ago

Hello. I have an Autumn Blaze tree that I have had in my yard for about 4 years now. I have not pruned it at all yet. I am not sure if I need to trim it or not. I think the woman at the nursery said to trim everything off below 5 ft, but am not sure. I have included a pic with my husband standing next to it. He is 5'11 if that helps. Should I trim the bottom branches off or just let it be?
Thanks for any advice.

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hairmetal4ever

10 years ago

You don't HAVE to prune it, but can. You may or may not know that, because of the way trees grow (from new tissue only), a branch that comes off the trunk at 4' above ground will never be more than 4' above the ground - in other words, the trunk does not elongate.

So if you want a tree you can walk under, you need to "limb it up" as it's called. You should never remove more than one-third of the total crown in one year or the tree might lose too much of its leaf surface.

You could easily remove the three or four lowest branches this year. That won't be truly "walkable" underneath, but close, and would be the five feet the nursery recommended. (Why they recommended that specific height, I'm unsure, it seems arbitrary to me). You could remove a few more the following season.

The only caveat is that maples are best pruned in summer, pruning now through spring will cause the wounds to bleed sap. While it probably won't hurt the tree, it's unattractive and can stain the trunk.

You don't have to prune at all, if you don't mind a tree that has a low canopy. There are other issues with Autumn Blaze maples as well, namely, narrow branch angles, that can split in storms, which others can chime in on. However, for what it's worth, your tree appears to have a pretty nice form for that type of tree. There's one branch that has be a bit concerned, about halfway up on the right side, that might be a split risk later on.

This post was edited by hairmetal4ever on Thu, Feb 6, 14 at 16:22

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Comments (8)

Deb
10 years ago
From the photo, it appears that you may have one or more co-dominant leaders. Those are a bigger concern than low branches when it comes to the health of the tree.
You may want to have an arborist take a look at the tree and shape it to give it a good start in life.
As for pruning off everything below five feet, be aware that at least half of the tree's foliage should be in the lower two-thirds of the tree. If you do decide to prune off lower branches, consider doing it gradually to minimize stress to the tree.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pruning & Care of Shade Trees
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Thank you very much for all of the helpful replies. I guess I will wait till fall and see how things go, and be prepared to replace them if they don't survive another summer. First of all, here are a couple of photos of the trunk of the one in the yard (the worst one). You can see where I recently dug out the excess soil piled around the tree and attempted to get it at the level it probably should have been at when they planted the trees. Dwrecktor, it sounds like your experience was very close to mine. Do the pictures above look like your trees did? How long was it between the time your trees were planted and when you removed the excess soil? Mine will have been in the ground for 3 years in September. I sure wish I had known to do that right away. Arktrees, great suggestion on the perc test - I will do that. I do know that the soil is heavy red clay and there isn't much topsoil since they took that away when they built the homes. As a rule, our soil tends to be slightly alkaline from what I've heard. It gets very hot and dry here in the summers. Any suggestions as to what might be a good replacement tree? Since my house faces south, a shade tree is a priority. Other considerations are something that will be less likely to blow over or lose big limbs in our storms, won't overwhelm my small lot, and if it produces something edible (like pecans or fruit) that would always be a plus. Drought and heat tolerance would be pretty high on the list and it would be in full sun pretty much all day on that side of the house. Of course I don't want anything that will mess with the driveway/sidewalk/foundation or plumbing, though maybe that last one isn't a big deal with new construction. I welcome any and all suggestions. My personal favorites are maples and birches and blue spruce, but that's probably the Canadian in me :) I'm guessing none of those would do well down here? I'm guessing the burr oak comment was a joke? What is a chinquapin? Are there any small pecan cultivars that would make a good yard tree, or are they all huge? Also, I was reading about Caddo maples that are native to SW Oklahoma - has anyone had any experience with them? Thanks again everyone for all the helpful replies and for not making me feel more like a total idiot than I already do lol
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In that case, late winter right? Its only 1 branch..but a big major branch that I want to remove for clearance/aesthtics...I could wait till next year.
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I hate to sound stuffy, but anyone trained in arboriculture knows why pruning a branch mid-way (mid-node) is not preferrable. Trees are not hedges. If you want long term structural integrity, you don't want to cut tree branches off mid-way (mid-node) if there is an option. The tree in the photos does not appear to show a strong enough "twig" on the rogue branch that could take over and become a sound sructural branch in the form of this young tree. The tree looks vigorous enough that one of the other lateral branches below the rogue branch will take off and become a structural (scaffold) branch and even out the crown. Check out the pubication "How to Prune Trees" NA-FR-01-95. [Radnor, PA]: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service Here is a link that might be useful: How to Prune Trees (excerpt)
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The worry over burlap and wire cage is needless. The burlap itself poses no threat to root growth. The villain is usually compacted soil. The wire cage initially serves as a stabilizer for the roots and gradually leaks iron into the soil, a good thing since maples sometimes suffer from a lack of accessible iron. I'm not sure "needless" is exactly the term I'd use :-) There have been numerous studies that show how NOT removing rootball wrappings before planting can inhibit the establishment of trees and how many trees planted with wrappings remaining intact fail within the first few years in the ground. Considering the investment with many larger trees, those that are often sold B&B and with wire cages, it is a risk many choose to not to take. In fact, most extension services, the USDA, the Forest Service and the ISA all recommend removing ALL wrappings from at least the the top half of the root ball after placement in the planting hole. Some even go so far as to recommend washing the roots or removing the heavy clay soil most B&B stock are grown in. It is there only as a convenience to the growers, not because it has any magical properties for protecting roots or enhancing root development. And FWIW, there's a lot of burlap-looking products on the market that are not natural, untreated burlap and they are frequently used simply because they do NOT degrade rapidly once in the soil. Some are even plastic products that are visually identical in appearance to untreated burlap and not removing this product when planting will virtually assure tree failure. And it's pretty darn hard to remove burlap within a wire cage without removing the cage or at least a portion of the cage as well.
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jbraun_gw
10 years ago
I agree with hair. Before you decide if you want to prune, ask whoever mows the grass if any of the limbs get in their way. Then chose.

I have that variety kind of close to my back patio. It's about 2 years younger and it's a little lower than yours is now. As it gets older I'll limb it up to about 5' or 6'. It's easier to do things under.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
its a simple equation ...

its either your backyard.. or the trees...

if you dont prune.. the tree will take over ....

with no more than that pic ... and presuming there is a deck or patio behind.. i would prune everything .. from the pix sight-line... below the fence behind.. and whn i got near the fence line.. i would stop.. and wait until next year.. taking this summer to find out if i liked what i achieved.. my general pruning rule is.. you can always take more off next year.. but you cant staple them back on.. if you get carried away ....

because i would want to retain the site block on the houses behind ...

if there is a deck and its elevated.. then that might change perspectives.. etc ...

i would then hand prune off any twig-let branches.. new word there.. lol ... of any twigs growing down.. from what i left... anything that could poke me in the eyes while i enjoy my shade ... its much simpler to snip off a tiny twig.. than wait until its an inch thick ....

and while you are at it.. knock him down.. and give him a shave also ... lol ..

do you have any clue on how to prune [i see a link above, which i dont have time to proof] .. do you own the right saw.. and do you have a pair of good pruning hand shears???

ken

ps: i wouldnt worry about more than one leader.. now that it is fence high ... i dont think that these trees favor single leaders naturally.. so i wouldnt be worrying about it in the future .... i would not want a shrub at the ground.. but now that it will be over my head.. i feel its moot ....
whaas_5a
10 years ago
Without seeing several other pics, I'd say you have a pretty nice Autumn Blaze as far as structure goes for this cultivar.
arktrees
10 years ago
From looking at the pic, about neck high on the stand in model would be about min level for mowing purposes. IMHO prune the bottom half of these this year, and then the rest to the models neck height next year. AND make PROPER pruning cuts. That means no pegs left sticking out from the trunk, nor cutting chunks out of the trunk. If your no sure, come back and we will educate you on the best place to make the cuts.

Arktrees
olreader
10 years ago
I think the advice to prune in summer is good. You will be able to see how the leaves screen the neighbors and how the tree provides summer shade.

Question for everyone: if someone wanted to keep all the existing low branches on this tree, and/or encourage more branches/leaves/screening on the lower part of the tree, would any pruning be recommended (either low or high on the tree)? Or just leave it alone?
suz9601
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you everyone for all of your help. i really appreciate it. :)

Do I need to prune Autumn Blaze tree?

hairmetal4ever

Comments (8)

Deb

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Do I need to prune Autumn Blaze tree?

hairmetal4ever

Comments (8)

Deb

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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suz9601Original Author

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suz9601
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