Hi, I think that whatever happens to this tree (and I hope it's alright), you need to relax just a bit, or you might stress out the next trees with too much caring - believe me, I've done it. First, are you sure the webs you saw were in fact from red spider mites, or possibly only some little garden spider that wouldn't necessarily have been a problem? Secondly, you ran and applied two different and rather serious chemicals to the tree, when in fact if you did have mites, a good hosing down with water, and possibly a couple of drops of detergent in the water, would have sufficed. It's hard to say now whether the chemicals did in your tree or not, whether it was the hosing you gave it (on top of your twice wkly watering, which it might not have needed, or the compost soil mix which probably was too 'soggy' for maples, who don't like wet feet. Next time take one step at a time, be sure you're addressing the actual problem with the right remedy, and do a bit of reading on soil mixes for diff. trees. Boy, is it ever easy to give advice when it's not my tree in trouble :-). Sorry.

Not 'Osakazuki' - the only red it displays is with its fall color but then it does so in spades. To be honest, getting an accurate ID is usually an exercise in futility. With nearly a thousand registered cultivars, some sharing extremely similar characteristics, correctly identifying most JM's is something best left to experts. And even these don't always agree :-)) Truly, it is only those that have very specific attributes that can be reasonably identified with any kind of assurity. Barring any unique characteristics and lack of confirmation of a graft, I'd suspect this was just a seed grown or generic species Japanese maple. Not that these are any less desireable than the named forms :-) Most are lovely trees.

I see that censorship is alive and well on the Gardenweb. I've seen a lot of Japanese maples in my life and I've seen many with multiple branches low on the trunk but never one that has several trunks coming out of the ground like in the photos that Dave posted. It truly does look like a shrub. That look is not my cup of tea for a Japanese maple. If I want something that looks like a lilic then I'll go buy the lilac. IMHO, the Burgandy Lace was not pruned properly when it was younger although that it strictly from a viewpoint of aesthetics and not structural abnormalities. Looking at it's branching structure, I don't see any branches that resemble the acute angle on the maple in this thread. I still maintain that the latter needs a pruning job to correct for a structural defect. A tree that gets this large is going to act like a sail. Consequently, the wind is going to get leverage on any tall trunks that branch low on the tree. I am not saying that a Japanese maple needs to be pruned to look like an oak tree or any other really large tree. What I am saying is that sound pruning practices are applicable for any plants above a certain size. It is irresponsible and amateurish to suggest otherwise. It is also hypocritical to suggest this for some trees but not others not to mention confusing for anyone new to the Gardenweb. I must respond to one of the deleted posts. Basically, it was stated that this tree will not recover and fill out from pruning off the second leader. K4 hit the nail on the head in his response which was that the tree will throw out a lot of new growth next year after this leader is pruned off. This new growth will provide plenty of opportunity to shape the tree into a far better look than it has now. Without question, the tree will quickly fill out and I question the practical experience of anyone who states otherwise.

gone - thanks!