Hi all,

I have a multi-trunk red dwarf maple in my garden, not sure about the exact variety. At the moment, it’s 5 years old, about 3 feet tall and looks more like a bush rather than a tree.

Is there any chance I can make it grow taller by pruning? I assumed I would have to turn this into a single trunk, but which of the trunks should be the leader? It has never been pruned afaik.

Thank you for any suggestions

by roux32

2 Comments

  1. Tom_Marvolo_Tomato

    Do you know what cultivar (cultivated variety) you bought? It may be genetically that small for the rest of its life. You might force it to get a little taller by pruning the side branches, but not by much, and you’ll also be ruining its shape.

  2. Snickits

    Yea, it’s gonna depend on the variety specifically. But, you can force it taller by pruning side branches and forcing the nutrients into a center stalk, which isn’t easy with these, as they (obviously) branch out sideways.

    It depends on when you bought it/ planted it, but 5 years in to a dwarf this size makes sense. Continue to trim the underside of the canopy if you’re trying to send the nutrients and growth vertical. But in about 15 years it’ll be chest/ head height, and 5-6’ wide. It’s an ornamental tree.

    I wouldn’t trim anything now. Let it absorb all the photosynthesis it can, with all the leaves it can, which will make it grow faster, then you can begin to shape it. But at this stage, I’d leave it, and make very small trimmings on the underside of branches to entice vertical growth :/

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