Japanese & Red/Swamp Maples

ninja

Hi everyone,

I have recently aquired a Japanese maple from a nursery and am going to dip a red maple when it gets a little warmer.

heres a full picture of the Japanese maple

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ninja

here's were I plan to do the trunk chop
any suggestions welcome

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ninja

Heres the red maple I plan on digging up
Whats best, the red chop or the blue chop?

Also does anyone have any experience digging red maples and if you do advice is welcome.

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TreeBay

For the first one, you could cut it at that height to begin with, but the finished tree would need to be shaped much lower to develop a taper consistent with the shape and movement of the lower trunk.

A cut made at the point shown below would be a reasonable follow up, perhaps after thread grafting new leaders on either side of the trunk just beneath the cut height to ensure that there is no dieback from this point.

I have done this type of cut on healthy, relatively young (10-20) year old maple specimens without needing the insurance of a new leader, but your mileage may vary with climate and experience.

The cut is not perpendicular to the photograph but angled toward the back, as if it were made in the direction of the black arrow.

Regards.

Matt

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TreeBay

Most red maples are grafted. That trunk looks suspiciously like a garden variety Japanese Maple. You might want to photograph it higher up, perhaps including the entire tree



I think bott proposed cuts on that tree are too low and too blunt, unless your plan is to leave it in the ground for 10 years or more.

Regards,

Matt

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ninja

thanks Treebay

I'll follow your advice for the Japanese Maple

As for the red maple, at the moment I can't go outside and take another picture but this is one that I had already taken thats a little further away. The green on the trunk is actually from some sort of moss or algae because it gets pretty wet down here in Alabama. The trunk turns more of a grey with white stripes more higher up. Also notice the leaves I have circled, they look like a trident yet they turn red when hardend.

I made a new chop mark higher up on the trunk that will be high on the front and angle downwards as it gets to the back creating an upside-down "V" look

Please tell me what you think

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Jay Wilson

Hello Ninja,
Looks like your typical red/swamp maple to me (Acer rubrum).
Poor ole' Matt, living out in California, has probably never experienced red maples in the wild. Myself, living in central Florida, never see japanese maples except in pictures.

If it's at all possible, you should leave it in the ground where it is and do your trunk chop. It will then be able to use the whole root system to grow the new leader. Fertilize a lot and it will still need at least a three years (and a couple of more chops) to get your new trunk and taper where you want it.

If you must dig it now, put it in the ground (or a large grow box) and it will only add a year or so to your plan.

I would also recommend a straight chop two or three inches higher than you want the actual chop to be. This allows for die back and gives you a better choice of new leaders (just rub off any buds you don't need) and gives you something to tie the new leader to. After a few months, when the new leader is strong and growing in the right direction, you can do the angle chop where it needs to be and let the tree start the healing process.

Where I live, with the long growing season, a chop on a three inch red maple will heal over in two to three years. (If it's on it's original root system with heavy feeding) You can probably add a year to that in Alabama.

Good luck and have fun!

Jay Wilson

Jay Wilson

Here's one of the reasons they call them red maples.

This one is growing in my yard and is covered with the winged seed pods (picture taken today).

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Jay Wilson

A closeup of the seed pods.

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