Yep, a photo would help!

scorpgirl

This lower branch could be a "temporary" branch, in other words, one that will be coming off eventually to afford clearance under the tree. As such, its' appearance is of little importance, longterm. Of course, you could cut it back to a lateral/ This will slow down its' growth which will not be of any harm to the tree proper.

+oM

Okay-
Pineresin-I still haven't taken a photo, but tomorrow morning, I will get out there!
Wisconsitom-I have trimmed enough to have clearance, so the branch will not be pruned off. It is one of the lower branches that will be staying, so it makes it even more noticeable.
Can you both check back sometime tomorrow for the photo?
I'd appreciate it.
Thanks!
Jo

Here are the photos.
Thanks for any help.
Jo
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I agree that the branch looks a little awkward and needs to be pruned for a more visually pleasing landscape. I think I would prune the limb immediately past the first upward growing branch. At least in the third picture, that looks like the best solution.

Prune here?
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I would shorten it back by about half, or to the closest up-ward/outward facing, smaller branch. You don't want to make it shorter than the branches just above it, since they would then, over the next few years, possibly overshadow it and do so enough for it to die back altogether - you say you want to keep it, after all. Try to leave it a couple of inches longer than the branch above it, up to 6-8" longer, if that's where the best cutting point is. Take a careful look from several angles, and both sides of the branch before you decide where to cut - you can always take a branch off, but putting it back doesn't work.

The gentlemen above have answered your question. I have to agree, it does look a little odd as it is. It may be hard to believe, but eventually, that branch will 'probably' be in balance with the rest of the crown as other branches grow exponentially. But......absolutely no harm in shortening it up a bit. Just cut back to a branchlet. The tree will take this in stride.

+oM

That's the silver maple ancestry coming out in this hybrid. That branch is what arborists call "out of balance". I recommend pruning it off right back to the trunk. The tree's crown is full enough that it won't miss that branch. Cutting half a branch off is not preferable if there are other options.

I agree with dibbit's explanation of what needs to be done here. He stated what I was trying to earlier, but with a more detailed description. At least from what I can tell by your pictures, I would not prune the branch back to the trunk. It looks as if that will cause the tree to be out of balance in the other direction and provide no benefit.

The crown will have plenty of time to fill in and balance out.

Casia

No intent of starting an argument here, but.....heading back branches is the very essence of "subordination pruning", whereby these branches are slowed down in order to help a tree in full sun maintain its' central leader for a longer period.

Of course, there are many occasions where total branch removal is the ticket as well.

+oM

No need for an argument. Subordination pruning is about controlling co-dominant leaders. The branch in the photo is not a co-dominant leader, it is a rogue branch. The tree has a good leader. If there is an option - and there is in this case - it always better NOT to prune a branch mid-way. This tree is showing more silver maple characteristics than Autumn Blaze and if the owners want a neater crown then cutting branches in half is not the answer.

The 1000's of street trees I maintain - rubrum x saccharinum and silver maple among them - agree.

"If there is an option...it (is) always better NOT to prune a branch mid-way."

Casia, I disagree with this statement (at least with the word "always" in there). Taking this statement literally could make for some really extreme pruning jobs in certain cases. Can you explain/elaborate on your statement?

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)

Casia,

I looked back through the conversation and couldn't find where anyone had mentioned pruning a branch mid-node (tipping). As you indicate, this is not generally accepted, and I doubt anyone here would recommend it. Proper drop-crotching cuts are widely used by those "trained in arboriculture" to reduce limbs similar to the one in this discussion without removal of the entire limb. Drop-crotching is not the same as tipping! I assume you are familiar with this technique. Maybe you just misunderstood what we were trying to say?

The link you provided covers topping and tipping, which, again, wasn't recommended or even mentioned.