Carl_Bergstrom

Ralph,

I've got very limited experience defoliating Japanese maples. First of all, you only want to do this on a tree that is healthy and with the primary branching fully developed - but I assume you knew that part.

One thing that I would add is that you should not defoliate many of the named cultivars - they are not sufficiently vigorous to handle defoliation well.

Best regards,
Carl

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In love with trees