Maple "Disectum" Yamdori 2nd year after dig up

[MattS]

Hi,

I would like to get some opinions on how best to deal with my maple tree (Acer palmatum disectum).

A few key facts… dug it up last year in March and it sprouted lots of new buds and leaves last season. All the young branches and buds are still alive.

In general, I would let them sprout again this year, but I am wondering whether it would make sense to reduce some of the buds. As is typical for maples, it is now producing lots of buds at every point and last year it also almost only formed leaves directly on the trunk and no real branches.

So it would make sense to select the buds a little so that it also produces more longer branches this year or would it be better to just leave it untouched again because it is only the second season for this tree?

Perhaps someone here have some experiences that they would like to share with me?

Thank you very much!
Matt

[Fletch_173]

I would remove the clusters of buds personally and only keep buds where you think you may want new branches to form

[MartyWeiser]

I agree that you should be able to remove the bud clusters and only keep one branch at each point. However, I would keep one bud at every location even if it is a less than optimal spot to continue the tree’s recovery. They will not get very large this year and can easily be removed in favor of the well placed branches next year.