Hello Everyone, What a great forum! This is my first post and I have a question about a Japanese Maple in my yard. It is growing very bushy and looks very imbalanced (one side of the tree is especially heavy looking (see first photo below). The last photo shows some dead growth on the inside of the tree. My father in law planted it about 7 years ago. Any ideas on how I should approach this? Is there someone in the NY (Westchester) area who I can contact to trim/shape the tree correctly? Thanks so much for your help. Rich
We see often imbalanced growth when the maple is close to another larger tree or obstacle, it grows away from the shadier area. But in your case, from the pictures, it seems it is planted in an open area. Also, it may happen when, for instance, one side is watered and the other less so, like with automatic sprinklers. It should be quite easy for you to take a look at the tree after the leaves are gone and prune it to give it the shape you wish (see FAQ on pruning). Otherwise any professional in the domain could do the job for you. Concerning the dead growth inside the tree, I would not worry about it. It is likely the natural pruning tha occurs with maples as the interior of the plant receives less sunlight. Gomero
