lets side step the issue for a second ... first... its YOUR house.. its YOUR yard .... BUILD A NEW HISTORY .... don't try to save trees/shrubs/etc ... for the history of it all ..been there.. done that.. what a nightmare.. until i removed all the prior owners problems .... i cant tell from the picture whether the width of the lot is defined.. on the right ... with a fence right behind the plant in question .... but i can see someone way out back .. and i see the fence on the left .... IMHO .... for what it is worth ... both plants on the right of your picture .... seriously impede the view of and use of your yard ... in my yard.. they would be totally removed .... dead.. gone .... presuming that the photographer is standing on the patio that you will be spending much time relaxing on .... why do you not want to see half of your yard .... if you see the wisdom [???.... lol] .. of that logic .... then proper ID and rescue of a much too large... poorly sited plant is irrelevant .... [BTWay ... are those two plants approaching the power lines also?] new house.. new yard .. new to the garden ... carpe yardum ... seize the yard.. start by getting rid of your problems.. start with a fresh canvas ... and think about planting something in front of that shed ... after a few adult beverages... peering out over your domain ... that thing is going to start bugging you .... lol ... may as well start hiding it this spring ..... now .. the tree on the left .... again.. cant ID it at that distance ... but it looks excessively old .... overly mature... and has a history of improper pruning ... you might want to think about removal of that one also ... every problem [your plants] has a solution [and the snow started it.. lol]... try to look beyond the immediate problem ... and focus on the potential that was created .... i know its hard for new homeowners.. and new gardeners have trouble accepting that things must die .... but my logic is.. if i replace 3 dead plants.. with 20 new plants.. mother earth is plus 17 ... dont worry about it ... my best advice ..... get out the lawn chairs .... and spend the next 60 days sitting on every inch of that patio ..... and spend time inside each window... and REALLY LOOK AT YOUR YARD .... try to imagine it with and without the plants .... move the chairs way back in the lot and look at the house ... sit everywhere .... think about what is there.. and where you want to go with it ... in the garden.. there is rarely any hurry .. we can kill that bush today .. or in spring [might want to see if it flowers] .. or in summer ... define a plan .. think it out... go to work ... good luck ken

Thanks all. I went out yesterday morning and the main stem was already drying up so my dilemma was answered for me. I cut the top off completely, made the cut a little cleaner and gave it a good watering. We'll be planting it today. I certainly don't mind the shrubbiness. I bought it because I love Ginkgo leaves but don't have room for a full sized one my tiny city lawn. As long as it isn't going die, I'll be happy. Thanks again!

if not a grafted tree ... dormant buds will break.. and grow like the dickens... the roots are A-ok ... so there is a lot of potential for dramatic growth .... if grafted .... same as above.. as long as the break is above the graft ... can you ID what kind of maple it is .... any special cultivar?? .. is is a named variety .. or just a plain old maple??? just leave it be.. and see how many new sprouts come along ..... and perhaps in fall ... you will want to remove all but one or two ... a clean cut at the top at a slight angle to shed water might be to its advantage.. i will leave it to the tree guys for that part .. if not a correction of the rest.. lol .. ken

If the sunset maple you are talking about is a Red Sunset, then the "suckering" will also be Red Sunset. Cultivars of the red maple (Acer rubrum) are either propagated from tissue culture or cuttings. Commerical grafting of red maples isn't done due to problems between the graft and root stock. The area that looks like a graft union is actually where the nursery cut the tree back to force a straighter trunk. Let the "suckering" go until next spring, after they leaf out, keep the straightest one, cut back the rest.