October Glory Red Maple Trees Prunning

[Matthew Kauten]

I have 3 young maple trees I planted last year in April. They are beginning to bud and I am wondering a few things:





1. Should I consider pruning the trees this year or wait since the trees just got planted last year.



2. If I need to prune the trees which branches should I prune?



3. When is the correct time to prune the trees (I looked online and it appears early summer after the leaves have grown may be the best time for maples due to their sap.





Here is some additional information:





1. The trees have grown about 2 feet after being planted last year.



2. Significant amount of new branches have sprung up since I planted them.



3. When planted, they were originally about 7 - 8 feet tall.





Please see detailed photos below, I have included about 4 per tree showing different angles.



Tree One -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tree Two ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tree Three -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[ATH]

Tree 1: that low branch that sticks way out comes off.

Tree 2: Lowest row of branches all come off. Also, you need to pick a single leader and prune back the other 3.

Tree 3: Lowest long branches come off. Branch in the middle that is long gets cut in half (at a branch junction. If you can reach the top with a ladder, I'd also pull one of the branches near the top over and use masking tape to train it into a proper leader. That tree is going to be a mess if you don't help it get a good central leader.

Read here:
https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/structural-pruning-flash.shtml