Japanese maple development

[kez]

Hey folks,

It's no secret that my preference is towards conifers, in fact I feel quite lost when it comes to deciduous development and design. I understand the principals but have not had enough time through consecutive seasons to see the development of the deciduous trees I have.

This brings me to one of 2 maples I own. I believe in time this could make a very nice tree so I have been taking it slowly and letting it grow and strengthen. Last winter I did some root work and changed the planting angle but otherwise left it to grow unchecked.

IMG_4699 (1024x683).jpg

For scale

IMG_4701 (1024x683).jpg

Today I got out the wire and branch cutters and did some work, so far my goal has been to allow the leader to thicken, and in time I will cut and use the right hand branch as a new leader. Today I cleaned up and removed all the excess branching that wasn't going to be used, that left the 3 branches that are wired and the current leader/sacrafice branch. My question is do I allow the leader to grow until the taper improves and then cut it, or do I cut it now and allow the proposed leader to thicken and do the work.

Current leader length

IMG_4700 (1024x683).jpg

I read once that once A leader is cut in favour of another option that the portion of the trunk below the new leader will no longer thicken, that is to say the part of that section of trunk belonging to the original leader, is this true? or can I cut the sacrifice at any time and have the trunk continue to thicken as a result of the new leader?

The other work today consisted of setting a primary structure, at this stage I will definitely keep the left and the right branches, and am unsure of the upper left/back branch, it may stay or I may cut in time so I figured I would just wire it and wait and see.

Looking forward to input from the maple gurus on here

Kerrin

[shibui]

Any point below a growing part will thicken. Trunks and branches seem to thicken in direct proportion to the amount of leaves / growth that is above it. If you prune a sacrifice branch back to another leader the trunk below will continue to thicken. It may thicken more slowly because there is now less growth above but it will still grow.
With Japanese maple in particular it is important to watch out for possible overthickening, especially where there are several branches close together. I think there is a possibility of this in your tree where you have 2 branches and the sacrifice leader close together. Have a close look at the thickness above the 2nd LHS branch. If it even looks remotely thicker than the trunk below it must be removed as soon as possible to avoid the problem getting out of hand.
I would prune now, seal the cut so it heals quick without excess callus adding to the thickness and probably allow the 2nd left branch to grow to do some more thickening below while controlling the new leader to avoid adding more above.
One good thing with maples is that it is relatively quick and easy to replace entire branches if one ends up too thick.

[Pearcy001]

Hi Kez,

Firstly I'll start by clearly saying I am no maple guru, but I am slowly beginning to learn with time... finally

When I first viewed the image I too immediately noticed the reverse taper in the segment between the upper left and right branch. If you are only holding onto the upper left branch for 'just in case' sakes, I'd be removing either the centre branch or upper left immediately to stop this issue getting any worse.

If it were mine I'd be letting either that current main leader (centre branch) or upper left branch to grow long and thick in order to correct that issue while removing the other, as well as to grow that section to the correct desired thickness.

My question is do I allow the leader to grow until the taper improves and then cut it, or do I cut it now and allow the proposed leader to thicken and do the work.

As stated I am no guru, but I would allow either the upper left branch or current centre leader (depending on which one you decide to get rid of) to grow until the taper improves and then cut it. The problem I see with cutting them now and growing the right hand future leader is although it will slowly continue to thicken, there will be no going back to alter the thickness of the section before without thickening the section above. Yes it will continue to thicken slowly but you may not end up with the perfect taper from section to section that you're seeking. I'd be growing either the centre current leader or upper left branch long and thick first to improve the taper (while removing the other) before growing on a branch above.

Good luck Kez.

Cheers,
Pearcy.

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[kez]

Thanks for the info guys, already put into practice