Hi everyone. A while back without doing my research I bought an Acer Negundo flamingo. I read that you can get it way down to keep it more as a shrub is this true? Also I read that these are considered “weed” or “trash” trees. Personally I really like the variegated leaves and if I can keep it small that way by pruning I’ll be happy . However if I should get rid of it please let me know, I don’t want an overly massive tree in the corner it’s in, and it’s about 10 feet from the house, but close to my water supply. Thanks!
Hi, I get really steamed by some of the ignorant descriptions of certain maples as "weed" or "trash". These are beautiful and desirable plants, if someone doesn't like them that's their problem. As I understand it, a "weed tree" throws lots of invasive seedlings. I believe 'Flamingo' is sterile, so I can't see how this applies. A "trash tree" leaves lots of stuff on the ground, like Liquidambar seed pods or broken branches. That's certainly not the case here either. Any tree can be the wrong one for a certain position, maples aren't any different. So, done ranting. :) The answer to your question is that 'Flamingo' responds well to hard pruning, and actually the harder you cut it the more variegated the new growth will be. Many prune it hard for just this reason. The only disadvantage is that the new growth can be a little whippy, so you do have to keep after it. But it's very common to keep it as a shrub, and in any case 'Flamingo' isn't as big as the species. Like most maples A. negundo is surface rooting, so not a threat to break up drainage etc. But it does like water a little more than, say a Japanese Maple. cheers, -E
Whenever you want to keep something smaller than the type, you need to consider just how long you are going to do, exactly what processes. While you are trimming the top to keep it some particular size, the roots are going to be growing according to the natural type the critter is. Yes, any woody plant that is variegated will be smaller than the type by the same ratio of variegation: if the leaf is 25% white, then you can expect that the growth rate, and the ultimate size, will be 25% less than the all-green type. The white portion is parasitic. Gold or yellow instead of white has more chlorophyll than the zero of white, but less than whatever green has. Anyway, the roots will grow slower, but they will not be reduced as much as the top unless you have a program for doing just that. Failing that, someday the roots will supply more growth than the top can use and it will be expressed as either suckering or wild growth like waterspouts. The art of bonsai is a process that specifically seeks to keep a woody plant smaller than the type by keeping the roots in balance with the top such that neither is too puny nor too strong for the health of the whole individual. While most are smaller than a breadbox, exact size is just a choice. If you want your 'Flamingo' to be the size of a man forever, you need to plan on putting it in a pot (a shopping opportunity!!) and re-potting every few years to keep the roots in balance with the top. Every 3 to 5 years, depending upon growth, you will tip the pot on its side, undermine the soil with your hose on hard spray, and eventually wiggle the rootball out. It may sound harder than it is. You will do this in spring just before it leafs-out (when the buds are swelling). Don't let it get rootbound or you may have to break the pot. You know the signs of getting rootbound: you need to water more than what seems reasonable because you see the foliage drooping, and/or water stands on the top of the soil a long time rather than soaking in. As a rule of thumb, the roots will increase mass at about the same rate the top does, so if you have removed over 2, 3, or 5 years 20 lbs of wood branches, you can expect that there is about 2o lbs of extra roots down there. Again, don't let it get rootbound. When you get the roots washed free of soil, you will remove thick, anchor roots, and save tiny hair-like feeder roots which do all the work. Your main purpose is to make room in the pot for growth. Depending upon species, you can remove somewhere between 1/3 and 3/4 of root mass. Box Elder is a speedy grower but I can't speculate on the ratio you'll arrive at because I have never had one. The more often you do it, the more feeders and less anchors you will have. Over time you'll gain insight into what works for you and your 'Flamingo'. If you don't have a matching tray for the pot and you have it on the ground, roots will find the drain hole and happily grow a root the size of the hole, --to China. This is a mixed blessing. You will get a lot of extra growth: good if you want it, bad if you don't want it. It will anchor the pot, and if left for more than 2 summers, you'll be very surprised how well anchored the pot gets. Your best plan would be to re-pot every third year and have a tray. Overwintering should be done in-place protecting the pot from breaking by the soil freezing. The soil in the pot needs to be ~damp for the tree's needs, but never saturated, --bad for the tree and pot. You need to monitor soil moisture during autumn so that just before freezing, you have the moisture balance as stated above. After the tree loses all its leaves it won't need much water, but not none either. When the soil is mostly dry, but not bone dry, put a plastic film skirt around the trunk high enough to shield the soil from rain. After the world has frozen you can roll up the skirt so that snow can lay on the soil. (I forgot this is worldwide and just looked up Bishop. Do you have snow or long freezes? Or rain? You look suspiciously close to Death Valley) Be careful coming out of winter so that the pot doesn't get too wet followed by a freeze, or too dry to grow with spring fervor. And that's all there is to it! But don't let it get rootbound unless you like wearing a hair-shirt and self flagellation.
