Acer palmatum 'Moonfire'

Yes I would stake it for two years to give the roots a chance to to take hold. But no longer than that. And some light pruning / shaping in early June is fine.

 

Quite a solid little red, this one. Contrasts nicely against my Sumer Gold:

 

It certainly does!!!

 

Hi. I am new to this site. Moonfire is only the 2nd maple I have planted in 30 years gardening but having discovered the this tree recently I do like the way it fits my new garden with jacaranda, magnolia grandiflora, south african fern pine, melia, (titoki and pohutukawa. New Zealand natives)
I live in NZ.
What i am hoping you can tell me is would it be ok for me to manage the shape of this tree as it grows to keep a more open foliage appearance. Appreciate your thoughts.

 

Good evening @Ermat and welcome to the maples forum. First of all from seeing your photo, is to do nothing at all. It will find its own shape and you appear to have plenty of room to let it grow.
Secondly, there are rules for pruning that you can do now. Prune out any dead , diseased or damaged branches. This you can do at any time of the year. Lastly, I would check for any crossing branches that can cause future problems with rubbing or crowding. Summer, Autumn and Winter is ideal for this.

So IMO that's all you need to do and it will grow into a nice shape.

 

Hi Acerholic. Thanks for your reply.
I understand what you are saying and with a name like that no doubt you know your maples, unlike me.
What I am trying to determine is, is there any possibility I could trim this tree to look less dense in form (more zen like for want of a better term) or would that asking the tree to deviate too far from its natural habit ?
Just that some photos I have seen of older moonfire look a little bulky in form. Not to say I can not live with that or am I asking the impossible.

 

Hi @Ermat of course you can prune out the central and crowded branches, but this can have a very contrived effect rather than natural look. If yoh are going to carry out this type of aesthetic pruning I would suggest it's done in early Spring before leafing out. You can also do a little more in the Summer months to open up the structure of the canopy to allow more light inside.
But do try and do a little at a time each year and no more than a third of the tree removed at each pruning.

 

So pruning maples of this type is not uncommon ? Are there some maples that require no pruning and are just less dense naturally or is the sparse look always pruned ?

 

No not uncommon at all, but left to their own devices they self prune and hence you get that open and airy shape you want.
Obviously, the witches broom type of cultivar will always have a dense look.

 

Is the moonfire a witches broom type cultivar ?

 

No it's not but it is densely leafed and an upright grower.