A. Nine feet from a house is too close for any tree (except true miniatures or even bonsai). It doesn't have to do totally with root invasiveness; it's also a matter of allowing the tree room to spread, liabilty/safety, soil temp modification, etc. B. The Shantung Maple and Sour Gum are quite hardy (winter cold tolerant) and strong. They are water guzzlers. C. Basic tree planting routine: 1. Dig a shallow, broad planting hole. 24 hours before planting. Make the hole as much as three times as wide as the diameter of the root ball, but only slightly deeper than the root ball. It is important to make the hole wide because most of the new roots on the establishing tree are lateral growing and they must push through surrounding soil. Break up and clean up the removed soil. Fill the hole with water and allow to drain completely. If there is still water in the hole after 24 hours, consider some serious drainage mending. 2. Identify the trunk flare ("arch" or "crown"). The trunk flare is where the roots begin to spread at the base of the tree. This point should be partially visible after the tree has been planted. If the trunk flare is not visible in its original container, you may have to remove some soil from the top of the root ball. Find it so you can determine how deep the hole needs to be for proper planting. 3. Place the tree at the proper height -- with the trunk flare just above the finish level. Before placing the tree in the hole, check to see that the hole has been dug to the proper depth. It is better to plant the tree a little high, at least " higher and up to 2" higher (for largest trees) above the base of the trunk flare than to plant it at or below the original growing level. This will allow for some settling. To avoid damage when setting the tree in the hole, always lift the tree by the root ball and never by the trunk. 4. Straighten the tree in the hole. Before you begin backfilling, have someone view the tree from several directions to confirm the tree is straight and to make sure that the best "side" of the tree faces the most frequent viewing point. Once you begin backfilling it is difficult to reposition. 5. Fill the hole, gently but firmly. DO NOT ADD AMENDMENT OF ANY KIND -- regardless of your soil conditions. This is contrary to nearly universal (but improper) practice but it is the correct way to ensure long-term success of the tree. Exceptions: "woodland" plants such as camellias and azaleas -- these shallow-rooted plants need an entire bed amended, not just an individual hole; and annual plants (flowers and vegetables) -- also, amend an entire bed, not just a hole. Fill the hole about 1/3 full and gently but firmly pack the soil around the base of the root ball. Water to settle well. Fill the remainder of the hole, taking care to firmly pack soil to eliminate air pockets that may cause roots to dry out. Add the soil a few inches at a time and settle with water. Do NOT apply fertilizer at the time of planting. Allow at least one month before any feeding (if needed at all). No B1 is necessary either. 6. Stake the tree. Remove any existing nursery stake(s). Use one stake (smallest trees), two stakes (bigger trees), or three stakes (multiple trunk trees). Two stakes used in conjunction with wide flexible tying material will hold the tree upright, provide flexibility, and minimize injury to the trunk. Remove this support staking and ties after the first six to twelve months of growth. Do NOT keep stakes and ties on trees beyond this rooting period. 7. Build a berm (a raised basin 4-6" high) just outside -- 2-3" -- the edge of the root ball. 8. Water. Soak the tree thoroughly. Wait until the soil surface dries completely (down 1-3 inches, depending on the size of the tree) before watering again. 9. Mulch the base of the tree. A mulch on top of the ground acts as a blanket to hold moisture, provides nutrients, and to reduce competition from weeds. A two- to four-inch thick layer is ideal at this time. When placing mulch, keep it out from the actual trunk of the tree. Mulching material against the trunk often causes decay of the living bark at the base of the tree. A mulch-free area, two to four inches out from the base of the tree, is sufficient to avoid moist bark conditions and to prevent decay. 10. If you must prune, remove ONLY dead or broken branches. Do NOT top newly planted trees nor "tip back" branches nor "limb up" (remove lower lateral branches) the trunk at this time. Wait to begin necessary corrective or aesthetic pruning until after a full season of growth. Joe

Hey Randy, It could be that you have the wrong maple for the space, and it looks like you have already done some heavy pruning to provide clearance beneath the tree. I assume that you need clearance beneath the tree and you want clearance from the house and you also do not seem to want it too tall. That is a lot of limitations for this tree. It seems to me that you have the room to let it grow tall, which would be nice to see the leaves from the upstairs windows, and that is what i would probably do in this situation: keep the clearance beneath and cut any branches that grow against the house, but let it grow tall. if you want to keep it small, i suggest you keep it in the shape as the photo below, but this will require consistant pruning on the top to encourage side growth and keep the height in check. If you go this route, it will look better with a little bit of spread, sort of an umbrella effect, and you can just prune to leave some space between the branches and the corner of the house. You should try one of these first since it is such a mature tree, and see if it satisfies your needs. If not, you can then find a nice dwarf to replace it with. good luck, christian

Hello all, thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts. I too would prefer to leave the tree alone if possible. The only reason I thought it needed some heavier pruning was because I thought that a 50/50-ish "V" split at the base weakened the tree. For this reason, I felt it might have been a good idea to prune the right side canopy this year to slow its growth and eliminate it completely next year. But if the overall sentiment is that the tree is healthy and the large split at the base won't weaken it, then I am relieved to know I can leave it alone. With regards to shape: I am ok with its current shape. The tree does look like it was trying to escape from the shady spot, and from some angles it's easy to see it was growing in a specific direction... Also, after transplanting it to its new spot, the canopy does brush against the deck (more than brush, I'd say some of the branches can easily go a couple of feet past the railing in some spots), but if that can be left alone, I will. Thank you for the heads up about the cut paste. I already ordered it, but I will refrain from using it. PS= if anyone has any advice on the best way to propagate some of the cuts from this tree, it would be great. Is there a branch diameter after which propagation becomes impossible? I understand smaller, younger cuts are easier to propagate, but some of the larger pieces I cut (see pic) are about 2cm in diameter at the base, and I would love to propagate them as well if there's a way.

Due to the overwhelming majority of the people participating in this discussion wanting this and most sources saying late winter is a good time to do maple pruning, I decided to do the cut now. And the two crowns were really starting to interfere with each other and there was really no way to properly prune it. I don't know if it will heal properly at the bottom as it almost seems like a pathogen that did the damage. But if it works, great, the tree will be here a few years, maybe longer depending on. I think it may have been a grafted cultivar, not sure but it sure has great fall colors for root stock. If it doesn't make it, oh well, I have plenty of trees planted (5 of them red maples) and more coming, so taking one out isn't going to hurt anything. I'm starting to wonder if I should try to remove the stump or if it would hurt the new trees roots by doing it. Or maybe there are residual roots from the old tree that are feeding the new tree. Anyone know about these things? Here's what the tree looks like now: This side gives the best look at the bad part of this. The bar wood goes right into the ground. I did treat it with some Fungicide last fall so we'll see.