LOL!! Mike and I tend to disagree on JM pruning :-) Personally, I wouldn't touch it - I think it looks fine. I also disagree about the narrow crotch angle. This is a very common feature of many varieties of JM's and I have yet to see one "fail". I also have no concerns about making one "leader" more dominant than another - maples (and almost all other shade trees) are considered to have a decurrent growth habit in that they do not develop a true leader and the trees, especially if container grown, do not develop enough height or size to have issues with co-dominance. Nor do they require the early structural training of larger growing shade trees. But this is just my opinion. Mike grows some gorgeous Japanese maples so his pruning techniques are not to be dismissed out of hand :-)) YMMV

As you say,there's not a great deal you can do Stephen,JMs being a comparitively soft bark plant(and I believe named so somewhere)will often get die back on the youngest growth.Some more than others,the thin twigs are easily damaged by the elements and infections.When large portions of die back occur it's usually a sign of something else,more often an infection.All I can suggest is use a copper spray at fall time to help keep out infections and shelter from the worst of the elements,though not always possible.Also don't fertilise late in the year encouraging new growth that won't harden off before dormancy. I now spray copper every year as we rarely have freezing temps anymore in the south to slow down the spread of infections during dormancy....my plants suffer greatly.

Stephen, I can only report what I do :-) Although our climates are pretty similar, I'm sure we get somewhat hotter in summer and that is also our dry period as well.....often extremely dry. 1) You have already come to realize that a durable and very barky potting mix is best. Ideally, the best time to repot or up-pot is in late winter when the tree is fully dormant. And this timing is rather critical if any root pruning is required. But if I am just potting up from a nursery container to one of my own in a larger size, I do it whenever ;-) 2) Your planting techniques sound fine. I don't pack the soil in too tightly but I do firm it in place. If not firm in the container, it can compact and the tree can sink. 3) I only water around once every 5 days or so unless the weather is very hot and dry. Then I move that up to every third day, sometimes every second day but only if we are having extreme weather. And most of my containers are quite large, so that reduces the need to water more often. I water until the water flows freely out the drainage holes. 4) I use the Osmocote (but any controlled release fertilizer will work) when I pot the trees up initially and again at the beginning of each season. I also provide some dilute liquid fertilizer every now and again as it has lots of the trace elements Osmocote and other ferts lack. I don't think it makes much difference what exact product you use other than to avoid any dry organics - they are just not very efficient with any kind of container soil. Liquids or water soluble ferts are the easiest to mix and use but will need to be applied a lot more often than the CRFs. Finally, your little tree with the spotted leaves is not exactly in bad health. It may just need a bit more TLC and to approach its care with more consistency with regards to watering. I can say I have been quite brutal with mine at times when my life gets too busy but they all spring back well from any temporary mistreatment. Growing JM's in containers to their optimum potential takes a dedication that I am not always able to provide but most seem thrive in spite of it :-) Right now I have one that should have been potted up a couple of seasons ago - it is in too small a container for its size and I am sure it is rootbound as it is putting out really no new growth but otherwise leafed out well. I just water it a bit more frequently to make up for all the roots filling the container and it is at the top of my list for root pruning and transplanting this winter!

Thanks once again Houzi for your Views.They are valued as always This is most definitely not a Major Pruning Project in the near future Its a Wait - See - Learn & Enjoy Experience Will post a few more Pix in around 12 months The Japanese Maple Forum helps relatively new Growers like myself to keep the "Finger On The Pulse".Good,Sound advice is always on offer from Gardengal,Mike and your good self I wish I had a Garden the size of a Baseball Pitch Has anyone a few Acres to Spare.LOL. Happy Gardening Stephen.UK