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How Should I Prune this Japanese Maple? (photos)

Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)

13 years ago

I live in northern Florida and have had this Japanese Maple growing in a pot for several years. By keeping it in the shade, it has done really well. While it was in a pot against the exterior wall of the house, I didn't pay attention to its form. I am putting in a new large bed in the yard and I just planted it in a shady spot beneath a large oak. Now I notice that it has a double leader. Even worse (I think it is worse), the side leader has outgrown the main leader. Is there anyway to correct the form of this tree?

1) What variety of Japanese Maple is this? Can you tell from the photos?

2 Should I prune any of the branches? If so, which branches? I have gone to numerous websites on how to prune Japanese Maples, but mine just does not have the umbrella canopy that they say is desired. I don't know if it due to the variety, the lack of proper pruning, or the growing against the side of the house.

Here are the photos. Note that they are taken from different angles around the tree.

Sure do appreciate the help and good advice!

Carol

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Comments (6)

houstontexas123
13 years ago
the 4th pic shows the main leader is already split.

since the side leader is pretty large, maybe 40% of the plant, you should wait till the winter (when its dormant) to prune it off.
Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you for the advice, houstontexas123. Yes, the side leader may be more like 50-60% of the tree, since it has outgrown the main leader. It is considerably taller than the main leader. So I can prune it off this winter? I think it will look much better, if I can remove that much of the tree. Should I thin it out a little now - remove a few of the side branches - on that leader, so less growth goes into that branch for the next six months?

Thanks again,
Carol
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jmg1717, the ultimate choice to prune or not to prune is yours :-) Your post has garnered a number of differing opinions, including several from folks extremely familiar with growing these trees and their particular habits. With Japanese maples. most pruning decisions are going to be personal - there are simply no hard and fast rules about their pruning and all decisions should be made on a case by case basis. You seem to be assigning a lot of weight to the opinion of your landscape architect. I would just comment that because JM's do not develop a distinct leader, there is no apically dominant growth point in the tree, but all branch tips will share in apical growth. Removing the branch(s) in question will not necessarily cause the tree to grow taller faster but could very well produce increased overall growth of the canopy......there IS a difference :-) Also you want to be cautious with heavy pruning very late into the winter. Sap begins to move quite early with JM's and pruning after about mid-December may create a lot of bleeding. btw, although not necessarily obvious with this format, there are individuals that post here with some equally impressive credentials. Mike (miketann) is an extremely knowledgeable landscaper (now retired) with many years of experience and an entire personal "forest" of JM's :-) I too have a degree in horticulture and many years experience as a landscape designer and a nurseryperson. Just saying you are getting the benefit of a lot of years of professional experience on this forum as well.
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I wouldn't. Other than staking a leader (JM's do not have a true leader) for increased height if you wish, this little tree needs no further attention at this time. The natural habit of this cultivar is as a low growing,draping mound so branching will begin soon above the graft. You may decide to do some thinning or low branch removal down the road a few years but it is far too soon to do much now. The tree needs all the structure it has currently to support root development.
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musicalperson
13 years ago
That has some funky branch structure. I'd definitely cut the lower one and probably the crooked crossing branch. Tough to say without seeing it in person but it needs work. It's probably moot anyway if you've just now planted this in 95 degree weather. This is not the time to transplant temperate climate trees, especially ones that are ill adapted to heat.

I couldn't tell you what variety it is.
Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
Original Author
13 years ago
Oh, it's doing fine and used to the heat. Those photos were taken a week after planting. It was thoroughly watered before planting and frequently water since planting. It hasn't missed a beat - no signs of stress whatsoever. Since it is in full shade, the heat doesn't worry me at all.

I do worry about the correct pruning. After more research, I found that the JM were multi-trunked in most photos. So confusion has set in. Not sure what to do now. Usually, the right answer comes after mulling in around for awhile. And from good advice from the wonderful people on GardenWeb. :)

Back to tearing out the last of the five pittosporum.

-Carol
Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
Original Author
13 years ago
Tag says:
Acer palmatum
Atropurpureum Nana
dsb22
13 years ago
My initial thought was also to prune that tall leader. However, after doing a search on Atropurpureum Nana,I'm thinking this branching structure may be characteristic of the cultivar. I think that's what you're saying in your last post too. Given that, I would only do some minor trimming, just to tidy it up, like getting rid of branches that bend towards the center of the tree. I recently found a book at my local library that had some tips on how the Japanese prune their JMs. JMs were only a small section of the book, but it was very helpful. The title was "Niwaki: Pruning, Training and Shaping Japanese Garden Trees" by Jake Hobson. It's also on Amazon.

Here is a link that might be useful: Atropurpureum Nana

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