I am just now getting into partially defoliation. I have a Japanese maple that has thick growth, but am lost in how to approach the technique on this particular tree. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
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The tree looks healthy so the standard practice once the new growth hardens off is:
- Cut long extensions back to one pair of leaves unless you need to extend the tree in that area.
- Cut off one leaf from each pair leaving a short bit of the petiole (stem)
- Cut the fingers off of the other leaf.
This should produce a another flush of growth, primarily from the base of the terminal leaves (on cut off the other trimmed), but may also drive back budding.
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