Mature Japanese maple pruning

Call me Al

Hi. I am hoping someone with green fingered knowledge and experience could advise me please. We have a beautiful dome-shaped red-leafed Japanese maple. It is probably at least 18ft tall with an equally impressive circumference and, at the moment, is thick with foliage. It is regularly complimented as it is extremely pretty. I have however noticed that its leaves are touching the ground in places under the weight of last night's rain, and these branches are very low lying anyway.
Since we moved in here we've never pruned the tree as it was very mature back then. It doesn't seem to have ever been touched tbh. It has just developed into what is a really beautiful, but large, tree.
My question is are these trees supposed to be pruned? The reason i ask is because of the low lying branches near the ground at the moment. Maybe we are supposed to remove the bottom branches?
Does anyone have experience with these?
Thank you
CMA

celticbhoy27

Call me Al wrote: »

Hi. I am hoping someone with green fingered knowledge and experience could advise me please. We have a beautiful dome-shaped red-leafed Japanese maple. It is probably at least 18ft tall with an equally impressive circumference and, at the moment, is thick with foliage. It is regularly complimented as it is extremely pretty. I have however noticed that its leaves are touching the ground in places under the weight of last night's rain, and these branches are very low lying anyway.
Since we moved in here we've never pruned the tree as it was very mature back then. It doesn't seem to have ever been touched tbh. It has just developed into what is a really beautiful, but large, tree.
My question is are these trees supposed to be pruned? The reason i ask is because of the low lying branches near the ground at the moment. Maybe we are supposed to remove the bottom branches?
Does anyone have experience with these?
Thank you
CMA

Any chance of a pic? Late summer and winter are the best times to prune this tree, if I'm not mistaken. Lovely tree

Oldtree

Winter would be the best time with mid summer the next best. love to see a picture too.

Call me Al

I hope this has uploaded correctly and is clear enough. It is raining so it doesn't look it's too perky right now.
I am terrified to touch in case I kill it with kindness iykwim.

Thanks
CMA

looksee

I have a red maple and have cut several large branches off it at various times because of the situation you describe - it makes the front of the house dark if the branches come right down. It hasn't been at all bothered by the pruning and I think it looks better.

Sonnenblumen

Although some say Maples should not be pruned, they can be for shaping or other reasons. Examples of butcher cutting (not shaping) of Maples are common place.

Depending on variety some can become very dense and bland but this is often because they are growing in a congested or insufficient space. The big sprawling specimens are better suited for public gardens/parks not domestic gardens and there are many small-medium size varieties available.

Trees can be cut any time of the year, but shaping is usually better down in winter when tree has no leaf (easier to see and determine which branches require cutting/shaping).

Another option would be to raise the crown by removing lower branches. This not only makes the tree appear taller but also allows more light to penetrate the core revealing more the of Acer's majestic form.

Choose carefully and a beautiful tree in the right setting is easily achieved.

Oldtree

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

Trees can be cut any time of the year, but shaping is usually better down in winter when tree has no leaf (easier to see and determine which branches require cutting/shaping).

You are right there Son :rolleyes: A tree can be cut by any eejet with a saw at anytime of the year and it is extraordinary what trees can recover from.

However modern arboricultural practice indicates that trees should not be pruned in autumn nor spring. They can be pruned mid summer but mid winter is the optimum time to prune if you are in any way interested in the health of your tree, as the op appears to be.

Target pruning is the method of pruning that should be used and hesitate to take more than a third of the tree off at once as the shock could kill it.

In my opinion the OP's tree does not need pruning as it looks fantastic. pruning would ruin the naturally formed dome. this is not a fast growing tree.

Pruning will stimulate growth whereas the growth of the tree may now have slowed down somewhat as the tree has matured.

My favorite of this type of tree is 'Inaba Shidare'.

Call me Al

Oldtree wrote: »

You are right there Son :rolleyes: A tree can be cut by any eejet with a saw at anytime of the year and it is extraordinary what trees can recover from.

However modern arboricultural practice indicates that trees should not be pruned in autumn nor spring. They can be pruned mid summer but mid winter is the optimum time to prune if you are in any way interested in the health of your tree, as the op appears to be.

Target pruning is the method of pruning that should be used and hesitate to take more than a third of the tree off at once as the shock could kill it.

In my opinion the OP's tree does not need pruning as it looks fantastic. pruning would ruin the naturally formed dome. this is not a fast growing tree.

Pruning will stimulate growth whereas the growth of the tree may now have slowed down somewhat as the tree has matured.

My favorite of this type of tree is 'Inaba Shidare'.

thank you oldtree. I might reassess during the winter.

Ambersky

Dont touch that tree! If a tree is planted in the correct spot, not too close to a wall and with the right soil conditions and lighting, the only pruning it will usually need is to cut off lower branches, to cut off dead or diseased branches, or perhaps to make one branch the leader branch in order to prevent the tree splitting in future. Your tree is mature and has been allowed to grow into its natural form and shape. Unless it has dead branches why would you cut it?

Pruning Mature Trees

Pruning is the most common tree maintenance procedure. Although forest trees grow quite well with only nature's pruning, landscape trees require a higher level of care to maintain their safety and aesthetics. Pruning should be done with an understanding of how the tree responds to each cut. Improper pruning can cause damage that will last for the life of the tree, or worse, shorten the tree's life.

Many people prune trees to prevent them shading houses. Often these trees are pruned badly by cutting branches mid way, thus encouraging further growth at each tip which makes for a denser tree allowing less light through instead of more. This kind of pruning is often called hair cutting and it destroys the natural shape of a tree, makes it denser and often results in the eventual removal of a very unattractive tree.
Trees have a natural shape according to variety and leaving it alone allows it to grow and develop into what it is meant to be. Your Japanese maple looks like a magnificent example of its type.

See these links on pruning trees
http://www.treesaregood.com/treecare/pruning_mature.aspx
http://www.wcfb.sailorsite.net/WCFB/Pruning.html