Trimming my Crazy JM

We got this from a big- box store last spring - $40 because half of it was broken off (i really don't like buying from them, but couldn't resist the price) - of course it was labelled "japanese maple" -very helpful! It's got a very fine dissected leaf light green leaf. As you can see it's a little crazy - if you look at it from the side, it's flat! My husband wants to lop off those crazy branches that are shooting out into the yard - I'd prefer to let it be for a couple of years. It's very healthy - and is now about 10' tall and is really filling out (compared to how it was when we got it). It seems to like that location.

I know that you are supposed to wait til the fall to trim these, and wonder if any of you experts have any advice?

Thanks!

Kara

here's another little one we bought this year....

close-up of it...

and here's our 30+yr old red (bloodgood probably?) JM.....it's starting to turn....

I could see that some would like to trim your tree but if it were mine I would LET IT BE ...I think it looks fine ...yah technically you could cut this and that maybe those really low branches but your husband is NUTS... you surely don't want to lop off the out growing longer branches that arn't close to the ground ...it' is NOT a columbar pine tree...If he wants one have him go buy him a columbar pine or pear tree or something else tall and skinny and tell him to leave your tree alone!!!!!! DON'T ruin your tree cause it doesn't fit his idea of what a JM looks like ...it looks fine...David

This message was edited Sep 19, 2006 3:28 PM

Beautiful Bloodgood and gorgeous hostas. I agree with David. Let the trees develop a little and see where it's growing before you do any 'trimming'. The second one looks as if it may want to be a mounding type but sometimes this takes several years to become apparent.

Actually - that 2nd one was marked:

Aconitifolium (Acer Japonicum 'Aconitifolium').

Bought it at a reputable nursery in town. I've heard different things about it though - at the nursery they referred to it as a JM...I asked about the height and they said it would be a small understory type tree. But in an article about favorite native New England trees (I think in People Places Plants) it was mentioned as a specimen type Maple that grows pretty big...and it was not mentioned as a "Japanese Maple". I assumed that if it was called Acer Japonicum it was a Japanese Maple....so now I'm confused!

It's close to the house (and in high shade) if it's going to get big - plus it's on the outer part of the beech canopy. If it gets really big, I'm not sure that's the place for it....

Kara, what cultivar is the big blue hosta in the right foreground in front of the japanese maple? I am guessing that the jap maple is a "seiryu" and I agree with you, I would leave it alone. If it IS a seiryu, it will almost certainly turn a nice orange-red in the fall.

The acinitifolium is an Acer japonicum, closely related to Acer palmatum, the "true" japanese maple. A japonicums tend to have larger, more complex leaves, with far fewer named cultivars than A palmatum. A japonicums generally appreciate some shade and have spectacular fall color. Acinitifolium is probably the best and best-known of the bunch. It grows fairly slowly, upright with strong branches, sort of umbrella-shaped eventually and generally not too unruly for moderately small spaces. I couldn't believe the fall color on mine last year and have included a couple of shots.

same tree

This message was edited Oct 12, 2006 12:33 PM

J - the Aconitfolium just grows that way. I've been able to keep mine at about 7 feet over 30 years although it's a stretch. Here they are supposed to get very big here (20-25 feet).

I just wish that they would drop their leaves. I keep complaining about this - people are going to start calling me a whiner. :-) However, it's one of my favorite trees. You are obviously already loving it.