Maple needs to be pruned

[sylvanmedia]

I'm not sure when (what season if applicable), or which branches to trim from this maple. It's a hard Maple...an Atumn <something>.

Any suggestions would be really helpful.

Pictures of tree

-Dan

 

[MasterBlaster]

I wouldn't touch it.

Not yet, at least. Don't cut anything bigger than what hand snippers can cut, if you cut at all.

 

[Ax-man]

I'm not trying to be critical here, but that tree is going to need a good judicious pruning by a knowledgeable arborist in the near future, to establish good structure for the future.

The tree has triple co-dominant leaders , included bark and narrow attachments, one strong central leader is prefered # 5 is a good canidate and probaly the true main leader, #2 being the other choice only it looks from the picture that it originally should have been a lateral limb. The side that faces the house is going to need some directional pruning to keep it from crawling all over the house.

The tree looks like it was headed when it was in the nursery, a couple seasons before it was put up for market.

Any major pruning should be done during the dormant season when the leaves are off.

Larry

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

I agree with Larry.
Choose one leader and carefully subordinate the others. In simpler terms, make them smaller and stunt them, so the leader can take the dominant roll.
It sounds simple, but is best left to a good arborist. The tree is a good example of the trash nurseries are pushing. I'll bet the root system is even worse.
Perhaps, if you could get us good pictures of the tree dormant, we could guide you through the prunning process. Right now, the leaves will stop us from being able to see just what's going on and showing you where to trim.

 

[Guy Meilleur]

I agree w htose 2,

except that late summer is a fine time to prune maples, if one is experienced. Yes subordination needs to happen, and the sooner the better.

Can you use your garden hose to wash the dirt away from the bottom of the trunk? We'd like to see the root structure, to see if it's as bad as the branches (no offense).

But first, get that grass at least 1' away from that trunk!

www.treesaregood.com

 

[MasterBlaster]

For now.

 

[Guy Meilleur]

I'm with ya mb, for now the felcos , or a little pole pruner would be easier and avoid the need for a stepladder, to snip the top few feet off those 2 codoms. Yes it's easier to see in the winter, but that's not enough reason to wait. The worst move would be whole branch removal.

If the owner is itching to cut the 2 horiontal smaller branches I'd say why? If it's to make it easier to cut the grass, then do the REAL easy thing and get rid of the grass under the tree! Trees deliver more value than turf.

If the owner is itching to do something for that tree, s/he should also work on the subterranean half.

 

[DadF]

I'm with Guy on this one, only I would say that anytime the pruners are sharp . However the best time is during the dormant season and then the next best would be in early fall (so that new growth wouldn't have enough time to start and get frost damaged). Yes the co-dominant leaders need to be less codominant and more into branch structure. I do see future problems with the included bark unions and narrow crotches. But what really worries me is that the tree looks like a telephone pole at ground level which tells me that it's been buried when planted. The root flare really needs to be found and exposed or the girdling roots will eventually kill the tree no matter what kind of corrective pruning is done up top. Expose the root flare and get a mulch ring out to the drip line.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

The reason I recommended dormant prunning is that you can see the branch structure. This would make it easy to take a picture, post it here, and get advice on exactly where to prune.

A second advantage to dormant prunning a Maple is you can trim branches away and the tree will fill in evenly in spring. That way there is less stress on the tree owner. If you prune this time of year the tree will have holes and look uneven.

I don't like to prune Maples in late winter or spring, because of the excessive bleeding. Although many arborist don't think this is a bad thing, all that sap leaking out was hard made photosynthate.