The tree will send out another branch at some point and you can rethink your shape when it does.ĭon’t make the mistake of only pruning the lower skirt of the tree and leaving the upper part alone. That’s kind of the idea, but of course with a much more natural shape. You don’t want any upper branches shading lower branches. When choosing which to remove, look at the overall shape.ĭo you want to encourage the upper branch to fill out a dip in the side, or do you need less height and more filling on the underside, so you need to leave the lower branch in place? Remove any branch that touches or interferes with another branch. People often let their weeping maples grow extremely dense, but if you look at the classically shaped maples in Japanese gardens, they actually have a fairly open canopy. If you can’t, your plant needs some serious pruning. You should be able to see patches of sky from underneath. If the neighbors ask, say you lost a contact or something. I find that it helps a ton to crawl under the tree when it has leaves and look up. Weeping trees are beautiful for their gracefully cascading shape, but they take a little extra work to keep that way.
#SANGO KAKU JAPANESE MAPLE FULL#
You should be able to see the main stem throughout its full length except within the densest part of the canopy.Īt the same time, you’re removing any growth that is damaged, sick, or in the way. The overall goal is to remove excess growth to create an open, pleasing form.
Remove any branches that are directly on top of each other, as well. You should also remove any overly-long whips – thin branches that haven’t branched out further – and any branches that cross each other, retaining the larger one.
While you may see a competing secondary branch on weeping types, you will rarely – if ever– see a competing stem on classically-shaped upright trees. If you have a large, competing stem coming out from the lower quarter of the trunk, in most cases, you are encouraged to cut it off. And you only want to have one main trunk. You want branches to radiate out from the main stem and spiral all the way up the tree, spaced about eight to 24 inches apart. If you want to see a weeping or rounded shape when you gaze out at your garden, buy a cultivar that has that shape to begin with. If you tried to force a beautifully upright ‘Sango Kaku’ into a weeping shape, you’d end up with a funky-looking mess. If you were to prune the branches to try and create an umbrella-like shape, you’d be fighting the tree’s nature and it won’t ever look as nice as it could. palmatum ‘Orangeola’ is a weeping type that has dramatic downward growth. You want to work with the natural form, rather than trying to force a different one.įor instance, A. Consider the Shapeīefore you begin pruning, consider the natural shape of the specimen. If it starts to snap or crack, it’s dead.ĭo your fine pruning in the early spring just as the leaf buds open.
If in doubt, try bending it gently in the middle. If you’re wondering how the heck you can tell whether a branch is dead or not in the winter, you can determine this by looking at the coloring.ĭead branches are generally gray, but regardless of the hue, a dead branch will stand out because it will be a different color from the majority of the other branches.
Leaking sap doesn’t hurt the plant, but it’s unsightly and no one likes getting sticky stuff all over them while they’re trying to work in the garden. If you prune in the middle of winter, you can also avoid causing the tree to leak sap.
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