Each winter, once the leaves have fallen on my maples, I look at the branching and removal of dead growth. Then sometime in January, we have a warming period when temps are in the 30's and I will spend some time cleaning up dead/pruning maples. There are some of mine (Kashima, Garnet, Inabe Shidare to name a few) that just have so much dead to clean up. I am wondering how, as they age, I will ever keep up with it. Is it my climate (zone 5)? Are are there some that just produce more dead wood than others? They all seem healthy, but I could spend hours on Kashima, for example, just removing dead wood each year. How important is it to keep up with the dead wood? I like my trees to look clean before they leaf out, but am I just being obsessive about dead twigs? Kay
Hi Kay, If by dead growth you mean the branches and twigs that the plant by itself decides it is not worth keeping because they are too shaded by the outer growth or by other nearby plants, then it is something normal that happens in all mature maples. To me it is 'natural' pruning and even if you do not remove them, they will break off with the rain and wind. At this time of the year they are so dry that I just use my fingers to snap them off. And, yes, I am like you: if I see a dead twig I just have to snap it off!! Gomero
KBaron, Not really. Every now and then we will have some, but the dead is just in random places. As Gomero said, it's like they are branches that the maple decided it didn't want to put the energy into for whatever reason. The dead in question doesn't seem to be due to any problem. I was just wondering if for the form and growth of the trees if it is important to remove the growth or not. Sometimes it looks like they have sent out a branch when it's really moist in the spring and then when summer comes with more heat and less moisture, the branch dies back. Then in fall two buds will form where the branch dieback is. So it is kind of a good thing if the untidiness doesn't drive you crazy:) Kay
Got it, I had an Acer palmatum a. that had major die back and I too was worried about the effects of pruning into the main stalk. We do experience dreadful arctic outflow winds on the occasion....
