You can cut it back now if you wish. After you cut off the top, there will be a branch opposite your new leader choice. Cut that branch back to a stub. You're going to get a lot of back-budding, so plan on learning how to manage the energy - I'll help with that. Basically, it includes pruning progressively harder toward the top of the tree. If the plant is very root bound now, you should at least pot up. Then, next spring you can repot it and go back down (considerably) in container size. Here are some plants I chopped back. They are all prebonsai, so you can see the scar and how it's healing. Some of these cuts were very significant, given the trunk caliper and how far they were cut back. mulberry: Aeonium: Ficus: The following pics were taken a few minutes ago. Virtually all my trees, except those grown in literati style, go through several taper-building chops, so 95% of my trees have been or are waiting to be chopped. It's an every day occurrence, so you can see how I can be so nonchalant about it. ;-) little leaf linden: Cotoneaster: Acer P (Jap maple) chopped twice so far: Acer buergerianum (trident maple) - the next chop is already planned - just above the really thin branch: another Acer b - this one will eventually have the center of the 3 trunks carved out of it (I think ...... it may well have other ideas about what it wants to be when it grows up. It will let me know & I'll act according to what it says. ;-) . For you guys that like Japanese maples, and don't mind green foliage, I highly recommend trident maples, as well as A. ginnala (amur maple). The later is extremely hardy, and both are nearly care free, other than regular root work if it's in a container - not as fussy as most A palmatums. Al

It is probably not too large to transplant if you are really strong and have a couple of people to help. The best time is when the tree is dormant, around February. You can go ahead and dig outside the the drip line of the tree and cut down to break up the soil and let it stay this way until you are ready to move. Obviously, you want to get as much of the rootball as possible. (Also, have the "new" location for the tree ready before you dig up the bloodgood) Yes, it can take fun sun. I am in NC and have no problems with JM Bloodgood being in full sun. Perhaps Shaina Japanese Maple would be a good choice for the 3-4 foot tree in full sun> Hope this helps.

If you intend to keep the maple in a container, the most important consideration is to protect the roots from severe cold. The small volume of soil in a container will freeze much more deeply than the ground and roots are generally less cold hardy than the wood. If it's possible to store the plant in a cool basement after leaf fall but before severe cold, this would be best. I think survival would be pretty doubtful in an unheated shed. Crimson Queen is quite hardy but Z4/5 doesn't seem realistic for outdoor planting, especially for a young specimen. Leaf filled protective structures can work, but unless the leaves remain dry they will lose their insulation value and invite fungal infection.

If you took care to minimize root disturbance, you could probably pot up now with minimal distress to the plant, but the dissectums are very touchy about being moved between containers while in leaf, you may notice considerable leaf drying at margins. The plant is now preparing for winter and storing energy in roots and cambium for its upcoming rest and subsequent spring growth push. For that reason, I would wait until spring to change containers. The best time is immediately before budswell and before the plant begins its growth cycle. Read on for other info regarding over-wintering. Your tree would fare poorly indoors over winter. In addition to the fact your plant will react poorly to indoor cultural conditions (low light/humidity), your tree needs a dormant rest period and some chilling temperatures to insure it grows with good vitality in the coming (next) growth cycle. Temperate trees that are deprived of dormancy and the requisite chill that releases them from dormancy either exhibit very weak growth or enter dormancy at extremely unusual times, sometimes in the middle of summer or even during normal peak growth periods. This is usually fatal for the tree. The best place to overwinter your tree is in the ground. Leave it in its present container and bury the container to the rim next to a building foundation and mulch to prevent drying. Your tree would prefer to be located on the north side out of sun and wind. You can also overwinter in an unheated garage, but if you do, the tree will break bud too early. When this occurs, you'll need to move the tree outdoors whenever temperatures are above freezing and back inside when temperatures get near the freezing mark. Allowing the tree to grow in the garage with inadequate light will drain energy and destroy the appearance of the tree (very long internodes & weak, pendulous growth) unless you prune the weak growth off when you move the tree outdoors, but this is a huge waste of the tree's energy reserves. Al