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"If it had 8-10 branches grow to three feet in one season, it is obviously well (re)established."

I disagree. It's most likely not "obviously" anything. Trunk chops on Japanese maples can go south easily if the tree is pushed too hard.

It's probably a young tree. Young trees, especially some varieties of Japansese maples, grow very strongly in their first few years. Profuse new branching at cut sites doesn't mean the plant will survive another trunk chop that removes them all.

Another trunk chop a year after the first one will require a significant amount of resources from the tree--alot of which the tree used to push those new shoots in the first place. Asking it for a repeat performance a year later, risks significant die back, or death of the tree.

Go ahead, it may, or may not, get through the procedure. Is that worth the risk to rush it? Why not wait another season or two to make sure it has re-established itself, rather than guessing?

16-Feb-2006	#10
rockm bonsaiTALK ArchMaster Join Date: Oct-2003 Location: Fairfax, Va Country: USA USDA Zone: 7 AHS Heat Zone: ? Posts: 4,561	"If it had 8-10 branches grow to three feet in one season, it is obviously well (re)established." I disagree. It's most likely not "obviously" anything. Trunk chops on Japanese maples can go south easily if the tree is pushed too hard. It's probably a young tree. Young trees, especially some varieties of Japansese maples, grow very strongly in their first few years. Profuse new branching at cut sites doesn't mean the plant will survive another trunk chop that removes them all. Another trunk chop a year after the first one will require a significant amount of resources from the tree--alot of which the tree used to push those new shoots in the first place. Asking it for a repeat performance a year later, risks significant die back, or death of the tree. Go ahead, it may, or may not, get through the procedure. Is that worth the risk to rush it? Why not wait another season or two to make sure it has re-established itself, rather than guessing?