Just had my laceleaf Japanese maple trimmed and I’m not sure if they went too far with it. The “before” photo was very full and low to the ground, and now after trimming it’s raised up a lot and looks much thinner underneath.
I know these trees can handle pruning, but I’m worried they may have removed too much canopy at once or changed the shape too aggressively. Will it fill back in over time, or did they overdo it?
Would appreciate opinions from anyone experienced with Japanese maples or ornamental tree pruning.
by Therealbrie
29 Comments
I prefer the ‘after’ look.
I don’t think so no. I think they could have done a little more honestly to give it a better umbrella shape instead of being so flat on the bottom.
Not at all. Perhaps more than you like but nothing wrong it harmful with what they did.
It looks like you took her to Super Cuts.
Wow sad
Add some interest under there and plant some shade perennials.
Never seen a tree with a bowl cut before.
Did they trim it with your permission?
Looks beautiful
Trimming makes it look bigger….
Looks great!
Sorry but it looks like genital hair trim.
The cut is good, but in my very personal opinion, I would have gone for a less topiary style, and more “airy”. This looks compact. But that’s ok it will grow back.
It’s like a broccoli cut for trees.
https://preview.redd.it/ptxiai54rjzg1.png?width=225&format=png&auto=webp&s=ce38ce2d29328a92b4d2a5e2e9b88ed5105f1d20
They did not, but I think they could have done more to shape it. A Japanese arborist told me that it should be airy enough for a bird to fly through.
They did it incorrectly. It should not be a “haircut” that just chops off the ends and leaves the rest as dense growth. It looks like they ran a hedge trimmer under it and called it a day. They should have opened up the canopy a bit so you can see structure. However, depending on your estimate, they might have done exactly what was appropriate for the dollar amount. Usually if someone wants their Japanese maple properly pruned, I do that as a separate line item. I would have estimated a 100ish budget (or more) for labor time to do the correct ornamental pruning.
They also did it at the wrong time of year if you’re in a temperate area, because you do not want to prune Japanese maples in the middle of the spring growth season. We usually wait until late June so the spring growth has finished. Pruning now, especially in this style, ensures a rapid flush of growth to replace what was cut off. This means you’ll need the same thing done every year.
It’s not a big deal. They didn’t ruin it. Let the new growth fill the bottom back in a bit, then look into Japanese maples ornamental pruning techniques. Wait until January when it’s dormant, and then you (or a landscaper that is down to spend the time on this) can get in there and open up the canopy a bit to reveal the nice structure.
I’m a fan, OP. Most japanese maples I see aren’t pruned much at all and I honestly think this looks pretty cool
They made it all even. I think they used a hedge trimmer. They should of let parts hang down at different lengths and cleaned up the top but not make it shaped like a hedge but a tree. Your suppose to remove dead, clean underside and raise the canopy.
The beauty of a Japanese maple is the trunk and branch structure (as well as the leaves.) The after pic is fine but I would have like to see more thinning of the branches to let light through and also to see the twists and turns of the branch limbs.
It now has a hard outlined shape. As it grows, the outline will soften, and you won’t notice.
It won’t hurt it, if you prefer the longer branches hanging down keep trimming most of it and leave anything that’s hanging straight down. You will get the same look again.
Well that’s certainly a style
You HAD a willow japanese maple, now its just a 16 year old male america maple
Could be my problem – The boxwood second from left got an uneven head, that bothers me more…
This not artistic pruning—to put it mildly. It should not have had a bowl cut and the bottom should have been made uneven to look more natural. (Japanese maples are definitely not topiary plants.)
But it will grow out on the bottom so no real harm done. But I would definitely tell him that this is not how you want it pruned in the future.
I think it would be more important to know how they trimmed it, for branch structure.
Did they just hit it with a hedge trimmer or did they cut at the nodes to create better structure?
I have not knowledge about the subject, but i like what i see
I’d say they shaped it as opposed to “trimming” it, but I’m not a landscaper so I may not be using the right words either. But it looks OK.. I’ve seen pretty bad jobs in the neighborhood where people take a hedge trimmer to these and there are sticks poking out… this seems better than that from the one pic.
Even if you liked it better before, you can’t put the branches back so it looks “fine”… you just have decide how to prune the canopy moving forward.
Personally, I like a more “Bonsai look” with a little some breathing room between branches, but that takes time to train. I just cut branches pointing inward and thin things a bit each year.
No, the before picture it looks completely unkept. I don’t really like how they trimmed it, but it’s a start.