i would NOT do it .. for a couple years ..

get the babe.. plant it.. let it grow a good root mass ... for a couple years .. and then accidentally have hubby mow it down ... and presto ... multiple dormant buds should break ...

or.. in tree time.. just give it the decades it needs .. to assume a more natural shape ...

pruning rarely kills anything outright ... so i dont really see any reason.. you cant guidance prune it into any shape you want ...

just dont go all psycho on a babe ... think in tree time ...

i presume price is a factor in starting small ... two thumbs up ... but when traveling this road ... you have to make things into what you want ...

ken

Just be aware that Amur maples are increasingly looked upon as invasive and undesirable plants. http://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-plant-descriptions/amur-maple-not-recommended

sometimes in nurseries they do a rough whack job and cut back birches with a loper,

big draw back the cuts are almost as wide as a slim wrist and could get infected.

a nursery guy told me that they rather stick 3-4 seedlings into one planting hole/ container now

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but with saplings as small as that you probably could just nipp off the top bud to encourage multiple stems

only thing: do it either in full dormancy or after leafing out, most Acer tend to bleed

fun fact: after the wall came down in Germany, the amur maple (Acer negundo) was one of the first species to recolonise the death-strips along the old border: pure sand regularly sprayed with some nasty herbizide for decades, so, yea, probably some tough weed tree

Another problem when using common names.........Acer negundo is a box elder: Amur maple is Acer tataricum (syn. A. ginnala) :-) But both are considered pretty weedy species and either can be invasive under the right conditions.

Yes, my link refers to Acer ginnala (Amur maple) not box elder. I didn't think of the international user base and common name but I apologize for that. :-)

Acer tataricum Tatar maple is considered a close relative to Acer ginnala Amur maple by some in the scientific community.

Acer negundo (box elder), a different tree altogether, is considered native to N. America but I agree, a weed tree also.

Counterproductive much?

'Counterproductive much?'

Another 3 word comment that appears to have no bearing whatsoever on this discussion?

Care to elaborate Logan?

"Care to elaborate Logan?"

The majority of people prefer their trees to have a single trunk, rather than multiple. I find myself pruning young trees to a single trunk, because there are less structural issues, less pruning, and a somewhat-smaller plant (room for other plants).

Thank you Logan. I now see what you are saying.

In the case of Acer ginnala however, the tree rarely gets 15-20' tall and is more of a shrub than a tree. A full rounded canopy to achieve brilliant fall colors is the main goal for this type of tree in a landscape setting. So I would treat this tree as Decurrent in form and not try to make a large specimen tree out of it. The more branches the better.

ILMT: If you can get seedlings for the right price, you could plant more than one in the same spot to create what is shown as a 'clump' in this link to Backmans Nursery.

I was aware that amur maple is a small tree, but multiple stems can make a small tree into a wide tree. I do agree with the idea of planting multiple. That would help to avoid structural issues.

To get back to the OP, here is my experience with amur seedlings.

I dug several that were growing in a mulched bed at a commercial establishment and potted them. After a couple years they were single stem and a couple feet high. I planted them out in full sun and they branched from the base and became multi stemmed small trees after several years, on their own, with no help from me. In my case the tree did it's own thing, I believe it will do the same for you.

So far as A amurense being a synonym for A tataricum, the few tataricums I've seen were single stem trees with larger foliage as opposed to amur's naturally multi stemmed wide spreading habit.

Amur maple is used occasionally in mid TN as an ornamental, especially in commercial and municipal plantings. I sometimes see seedlings beneath the trees, same as I see seedlings beneath A palmatum.

^^^^^^ Oh lord, not another one! Lol

Bill, thank you so much for your idea of planting more than one in the same hole. That is exactly what I'm going to do. And thank you so much for the pic of the multi-trunked Amur Maple. That is the exact look I am looking for. It's beautiful! I'm going to use your idea and plant 3, maybe 4 in one spot and we'll see. I'll do it in the spring and take pics at that time as well.

I don't think Amur Maple is invasive in my area, yet. And Logan, the whole point of having a multi-trunked tree is to have a wide tree. lol I have always believed that certain smaller trees are more beautiful when they are multi-trunked. YMMV.

Anyway, it'll be a fun experiment. We'll see how it goes.....I'm glad I've relaxed enough with planting in general than I'm willing to even do an experiment. I've come a long way, baby.

Like many "invasive species" they were once sold widely as landscape plantings. I believe our own MN DNR peddled them at one time as part of a 'wildlife package' for windbreaks and browse areas.

I would check on the requirements for your state to be sure it's okay. They can still sell them in MN even though it is on the invasive species list but they have to have a warning/instruction label of some sort attached at the retailer.

Keep us updated, can't wait to see it!

I just noticed, the lot next door has a couple of quite large specimens planted by a previous owner. There are small seedlings growing underneath the parent but I've seen no sign of any growing in unwanted areas around or near me.