Japanese Maples: Pruning a Japanese Maple, 2 by hcmcdole

hcmcdole wrote:
It will be okay but it will look ugly until it puts out new growth. I did it at our last house - had no idea that it would get so big so fast. Pruned it each year and finally had to hack it back quite a bit - didn't hurt it but it looked ugly in winter. I wanted it off the house in order to keep it from rubbing paint/stain off so I chopped it below the main floor. It often grew 3 feet in summer though.

I saw some JMs in other subdivisions that were hacked back to 3 feet off the ground and they came back fine. It reminds me of myrtle murder nowadays.

Here it is when the leaves came out and some new branches.