I truly love Acer Rubrums, and this small one was the only one I could find in my country at this size. Although I was told here that despite the name, a nice red fall colour isn't certain for red maples due to climatic and soil factors. Well to my surprise and joy, the fall colour has started to show up and it looks like it will look really nice, especially when it grows. The first picture is taken in summer months, and the other two have been taken recently. I want to make sure that I trim it correctly, so that it has a nice form that shows the beauty of the tree and so that it doesn't split in half in a storm. As you can see in the photos, the leader was already cut which I believe was wrong(?) Do I need to make sure that it has a single leader? Could you please give me some trimming advice? This tree seems to be my only option in the near future for a nice red maple.
Cut the smaller of the two branches above the forking off. Continue to maintain a single stem for as high as you want it to have one, non-forking trunk. Smaller, obviously non-dominant (not vertically oriented) side-branches can and should be left, just be sure there is only one leading shoot (one that will become the trunk) until after it is as high as you want the head to start. In a shaded position trees reach for the light and do not fork much, in the open many kinds may fork near the ground to form a broad, even bushy head. This is why pruning and training of young cultivated specimens may be necessary, even though there are thousands or millions of wild examples of the same species with long clear stems and high-branching crowns.
Is this a pretty freshly grafted maple? If so I'd not start pruning 'til early next winter. I find young grafts like to have some top. Otherwise I'd do just as Ron says.
I don't know whether it is a freshly grafted maple. Maybe it was grafted a year ago? When I cut one of the branches above the forking off, I want to try my best to clone this small tree as well. It seems to be my only chance of having an a. rubrum and I am enjoying the fall colour of it as it has become more red since the time I took the photos above. What do you suggest I do with the extra branch? Air layering or should I try to have several clones via several cuttings? I do not have a misting system or a green house area to keep the moisture constant. Also, when do you suggest me to do it for my climate? (My climate seems to be similiar to Southern CA)
In the initial picture the stem comes up straight and then angles left. There is a stub sticking out there, you should be able to see whether this is the dead end of the rootstock or perhaps just a bud that died back. I can't really tell. It is possible to root A. rubrum, but I believe there is a wide variability in success depending on plant. In "The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation, Second Edition" (Dirr and Heuser) they write "...[among] the most important criteria for selection should be the ease of rooting from cuttings." "The following recipe is being used at a large West Coast nursery with outstanding success. Nine inch long cuttings, 2 to 4 nodes, June and July, 2 1/4 by 2 1/4 by 5" pots, 1000 ppm IBA and 500 ppm NAA solution, peat:perlite, mist, Osmocote, Micromax, root in 3 weeks. Two weeks later, cuttings have another 6" of growth, are hardened off outside, stored in cooler, spring planted. Three batches are produced per growing season. The quality is outstanding!" Aside from the 2 "outstandings" in 1 paragraph, :), this seems like a pretty good formula for A. rubrum that you could apply by using a plastic bag over the node and keeping moist during the 3 weeks. HTH -E
Thanks for your response! I just checked what seemed to be like a stub sticking out in the first picture. There doesn't seem to be anything there at the moment. Btw, about cuttings... Wouldn't it be better if I made smaller and more cuttings instead of a 9 inch cutting? I would love to increase my chances of cloning this small tree.
