Young JMstraining and growing

Well, I purchased three new baby JMs yesterday at the local garden center. They are 1 gallon size. They are indoors at the moment, but are beginning to bud out, at least two are. All are Acer Palmatums, 'Tiny Tim', 'Villa Taranto', and 'Baby Lace'. As they are young, they are all around 18" tall, and have just a few branches. 'Tiny Tim' is supposed to be a dwarf, only reaching a few feet (2'-3'), but has lanky branches, I hope it is marked correctly. The tag is around the trunk.

The other two are proportioned about what I'd expect. My intent is to keep 'Tiny Tim' potted up, and eventually to have 'Baby Lace' and 'Villa Taranto' in the landscape. This means I need to get a strong central leader on these two trees as I'm not interested in multi-branched trunks on them.

My question is this...what is the best way to achieve this aim...I'll be staking the main leader straight, and wiring a branch on 'Baby Lace that is angling off more horizontally than I like. They are all very flexible at the moment, so I can do what I want to some extent. I'll post some pics of my new babies soon, but was wondering how you folks with more experience treat little trees...or do you just buy them big and beautiful?

Should I just take off lower branches as it gets older? Should I shorten the side branches a bit to ensure the central leader remains dominant if they are similar in size/length? Should I remove most of the larger side branches altogether and pick some buds higher up to be the branches if they show some dominance? Obviously, I am still learning how to get the tree to do what I would like it to do.

Laura

These are some of the problems I am dealing with since most of my trees except about 4 are just a few years old (several being 2nd and 3rd year grafts, plus the trees that I have recently grafted).

I actually think I prefer not to have a central leader on most of my trees. The most beautiful large trees that I've seen branched out near the ground and had strong horizontal limbs. However, I do have a few of my trees staked and I'm trying to get a central leader up to about 5 ft or so before it starts to split.

So I would suggest the following:
First, stake up the central leader like you mentioned.

If you have a branch that is as large as the leader, it might be a good idea to trim the budding new growth after a couple of pairs of leaves have emerged. I wouldn't go as far as to cut it all the way off, as you might decide you like it later. Obviously it is easer to prune it off than to graft it back on :)

As far as picking higher buds for branches, this might be something you want to do to the 'villa taranto'. But I wouldn't remove the lower branches until the new ones have emerged.

Remember that the 'baby lace' is a witches broom, and they are usually twiggy shrubs without much structural beauty. I'm also not sure that a central leader should be chosen with this tree. You might want to look into that.

I'm not familiar with the 'tiny tim' so I won't comment on that one.

In my experience with these small trees, the second summer growth spurt is where you run into trouble. Most of my trees have grown fairly balanced in the spring, but have grown alot and wildly later in summer. My small 4th year 'seiryu' put on a 3 ft long branch that was not from either of the two leaders I had chosen last summer. Prior to this, the tree was not even 3 ft high! I guess cutting these new shoots back before they get too long would be a good way to keep balance.

However, I think for the most part you shouldn't worry too much about the small trees' structure. Usually it is best to leave it be until it is a bit larger. I would only prune branches that are very hideous.

Congratulations on your new trees. The only one that I know is Villa Taranto and you shouldn't bother pruning up lower branches on that one. It grows into a very shrubby plant that is as tall as it is wide. Of course there are no rules on any of these trees. But one of the beautiful things about mine is the layering that it displays. You can always prune off lower branches later.

Thanks, I appreciate the input. I'll just leave them alone this year. I may wire a couple of branches on one of them as it is a bit crooked.

Laura