Charlie Brown weeping Japanese maple dilemna

Cincinnati, OH(Zone 6a)

I'm trying to figure out what to do about one of my prized green leafed weeping Japanese maple trees. It's about 3 feet tall and it WAS stunning, but about half of the tree is gone now - due to a larger maple falling on it when it was being cut down. I cut the larger maple down because it was 90% dead and I didn't think it'd reach that far, but it did...LOL So now there are large chunks missing from the trunk where the larger branches were attached. It reminds of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree now. I was wondering if it would do well at all come spring, but even with the missing branches and big wounds to the main trunk, it's pushing out new growth like nothing was wrong. Not sure if it'll have trouble down the road with rot or insects...but I'm tempted to just leave it be and see what it does. It's sort of an eyesore now though. I believe it would have taken the abuse much better and not had so much damage if the wood on these maples weren't so brittle :( I couldn't believe how much of it snapped off when it was hit.

This is what it looked like last spring. I don't have a picture of the damage or I'd post that. Maybe later if I get around to it.

This message was edited Apr 22, 2005 12:00 PM

Thumbnail by hczone6
Cincinnati, OH(Zone 6a)

The poor guy....

Thumbnail by hczone6
Cincinnati, OH(Zone 6a)

Shame - his foliage is so pretty...

Thumbnail by hczone6
Illinois, IL(Zone 5b)

Can't hurt to leave it alone (but prune off any broken stubs) and see what happens. If you keep it vigorous with ample water and weed control, it might surprise you!

Guy S.

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