Shopping & Style2 mins ago
Professional Pruning
8 Answers
We have a 10-12 foot tall acer in our garden which, although very beautiful, is getting quite overpowering, especially as it's in the middle of the lawn. OH nor I would have any idea on how to go about pruning it properly. I've just been into the "inside" of it and there are a lot of thin branches/twigs which are obviously dead! Then there a lot of long branches with leaves just near the ends, so it looks as if I lopped them, we'd be left with bare branches. I'm thinking we should get a proper person to do the pruning. I'd hate to kill it. What do you think? Also, any idea of what it might cost? Thank you.
Answers
Best Answer
No best answer has yet been selected by horseshoes. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.Thanks both. I did look at one of those eHow videos (very good for some things), but decided there's too much I could do wrong, so I am going to get professional help if I can afford it. I quite fancy the idea of lifting the canopy too, especially as OH complains about mowing underneath it! Mind you, it's mostly moss rather than grass, so perhaps that will improve too.
What a gorgeous Acer, lucky you.
You may well have looked at this and if so I apologise for posting it but the following is from the RHS website and may help.
"Pruning and training
Acer palmatum is best pruned when fully dormant (November to early February), as maples bleed sap from pruning cuts at other times, weakening the tree. However, pruning is still best kept to a minimum as the most graceful shape comes from a tree that has been allowed to develop fairly naturally. As a result, just remove badly-placed or crossing shoots to encourage a good framework of branches to form.
Where you do need to reduce height and width, follow long branches back to a side branch and pruning it out at this point. This is not necessary on prostrate-growing trees because they should be allowed to spread naturally to gain the best effect."
Good luck.
You may well have looked at this and if so I apologise for posting it but the following is from the RHS website and may help.
"Pruning and training
Acer palmatum is best pruned when fully dormant (November to early February), as maples bleed sap from pruning cuts at other times, weakening the tree. However, pruning is still best kept to a minimum as the most graceful shape comes from a tree that has been allowed to develop fairly naturally. As a result, just remove badly-placed or crossing shoots to encourage a good framework of branches to form.
Where you do need to reduce height and width, follow long branches back to a side branch and pruning it out at this point. This is not necessary on prostrate-growing trees because they should be allowed to spread naturally to gain the best effect."
Good luck.
Related Questions
Sorry, we can't find any related questions. Try using the search bar at the top of the page to search for some keywords, or choose a topic and submit your own question.