So I inherited several Japanese Maples. Most of them are little more than seedlings and I will be letting them develop for the next few years.
However, about 4 of them are in a mature enough state to be raw material.
I want to start in with a first structural pruning. The problem is being unfamiliar with this species I have no idea when to do the first structural pruning.
I would imagine that right now (Sept. 9) would be a not so good time as the trees are fully foliated and building vascular tissue and saving up sugar and carbs for spring. But I could be wrong.
So my question is when should I do the first structural pruning? Now? After the leaves drop at the start of winter? In the spring? When?
I believe the fall is the best time to do the pruning on Japanese maples. Late summer / early fall is good because it’ll give the tree time to recover and heal wounds before the winter.
If I recall correctly, you will have up to a few days after leaf drop for small and moderate cuts. Larger cuts should be done sooner.
Winter is a bad time to do it because there will be very little sap movement to facilitate healing. Spring is also a bad time for Japanese maples as they will bleed profusely.
Hi Sparky,
I live in the very heart of europe and what I found out is, that the best time for cutting big branches off / chopping the trunk is once the tree just passes the peak of fall colour. This is true not only for japanese maples, but most of the decidious trees. The tree has a chance to collect all what is to collect from the leaves and safely store it in the vascular tissue and is still able to seal the cut. This was suggested by Mr. Warren and I personaly find it very successfull. After such an operation trees respond with profuse budding and growth the following spring (in 90% of the cases, in the other 10% I believe that other mistakes I’ve done are to blame). All of that being said, I would only perform such an action on a healthy tree.
Bonsai on, Jan.
The trees are pretty healthy so I am not so concerned with that. If after the leaf color change is the time then I suppose I have a few weeks to wait still. That being said pruning after the color change and before the leaves drop makes a good deal of sense to me.
Hi,
I believe that this very topic of trunk chopping was mentioned in the Japanese maple stream which can be found in the library. If I was in your shoes, I would go ahead and watch it.
Depending on where you live (that is unless you live where there is a late spring) the best time for major pruning is late winter, or the time just before sap flows. Be sure to seal all wounds, the large ones with putty.
I was wondering the same thing. I always thought the fall would be the best season but after watching the deciduous stream I’m not sure. This is my maple. The red lines are the points I’m considering for the trunk chop.
Late winter is the best time, before the sap flows. Be sure to put putty on the cut surface and cut straight across. You could consider an airlayer above the 1st branch and then have a good start on a second tree. This maple should airlayer easily. You can do the airlayer in early spring or my preference is when the leaves first harden off.
You might consider the trunk chop just above the third branch and creating the new top there. Will add taper and movement to the trunk. You can remove the left lower branch and develop the right branch as the first branch. I’m sure you will get new branches on that segment between the lower branches and the new top. Is this a certain variety of A. palmatum?
