They’re beauties! My first ever JM’s inherited in the landscaping of a home purchased a year ago. However, they’re both sick and I know they need to be pruned back. But how much? Pictures are included. According to advice from other threads on the forum, I can confirm dead tissue and dieback on the limbs of both. The leaves on the healthy part of each are various colors from green , to dark purple and bright red. Not much is known about the soil (took a picture of that too). On the smaller tree, there seems to be a laceration or something where the tree branches off to one of it’s two main limbs. One side seems to be completely dead, the other living. Am I to cut the entire side of the tree? (There are four pictures of the smaller JM) The larger JM is sick as well, though not as severely as the other. But the pattern is perplexing because it’s not clear where to cut as partial branches are dead or have dead twigs on them where the ends of those branches seem pretty alive. Dying twigs are observed on tree limbs closer to the trunk moving outward, which means some limbs have what appears to be perfectly happy leaves on the far end of the branch but dead twigs on the further inward. Thus, I’m not really sure where to prune... (Three photos of this tree have been uploaded) Thanks in advance for the help!
Hi @Tennessee Rye, having looked at your trees they need the dead wood pruning out now. Dead wood can be cut out at any time of the year. The principal is dead, diseased or dying should be removed as soon as possible, as it works it's way back into healthy wood. Yes you will have a miss shaped tree for a season or two, but by doing this surgery now they will recover. Regarding the soil, I would loosen around the base of the maples to allow air to the roots. Over the years soil becomes compacted, which is no good for your trees. If you have had no rain, give them a drink and as its the middle of May, apply a slow release granular feed for acid loving plants. Once only is enough this year. Anymore questions then please come back to this thread Hope that's some help
My question still remains, though this is tremendously helpful information! I will definitely put this advice to task, @Acerholic But, “where exactly to prune?” is the question. Particularly on the larger JM where its dying from the center out to the tips? I pruned all of the small dead branches but there are larger ones extending outward with health leaves on them. Do I not cut limbs with leaves? I could understand the principle that nutrients are successfully exchanging between those parts, so don’t touch it. But I could also understand needing to sacrifice some of the dying parts of the tree if they are sick and infected to give the healthy rest the best chance. Which is more accurate?
@Tennessee Rye, I understand your conundrum, but cut out 'Anything' that is dead at the moment. Even the branch from the centre. If there are leaves on a branch then it is alive. But if the branch is sickly ( diseased), I would remove it 'now'. In the late Summer you can 'begin' to shape your trees ( even live branches), to what you want it to look like. But only 'a little' at this time', this called cosmetic pruning, then in February you can start to prune to shape your maples to where you see buds forming. This process can take a few years tbh, but it will be worth it. So for example if you see two buds on a branch next to each other they will form two new shoots that can become new branches next year. So you can start to see where you want your maple to grow and control it accordingly. Hope this of more help.
