pruning old japanese maple - Ask Extension
Could you kindly offer some advice on how to trim or prune my 25-year-old Japanese maple?
Knowledgebase
pruning old japanese maple #892827
Asked February 19, 2025, 1:01 PM EST
Could you kindly offer some advice on how to trim or prune my 25-year-old Japanese maple?
Curry County Oregon
Expert Response
I can't give you detailed instructions from the photo; good pruning really requires examining and studying the tree in person, from all sides.
The basic rules of pruning are, first cut out anything that is dead or diseased, then branches that are rubbing, then work on aesthetics.
In general your tree looks well-shaped, but it could use some careful thinning of crossing branches and the like.
Japanese maples are noted for their graceful shape, so the aesthetics part is particularly important. Bad pruning can ruin the shape of the tree, if it grows awkward or ill-placed stems in response to the pruning. The general goal for a tree like this is to make cuts to out-facing buds that will encourage a graceful vase shape.
If you have some experience pruning, here is a good handout from the Univ. of California specifically about Japanese maples (the laceleaf kind, but the basics apply to any of them).
If you have never done any tree pruning, or know little about it, I highly recommend you study the subject first, and maybe test yourself on a less-prominent shrub or tree before tackling this one. I don't think it will hurt it at all to wait a year or few, if you are not ready this year.
Here are some resources to help.
An OSU series of videos on tree pruning: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/collection/pruning-pros
And a single video on the basics of pruning trees and shrubs:
The basic rules of pruning are, first cut out anything that is dead or diseased, then branches that are rubbing, then work on aesthetics.
In general your tree looks well-shaped, but it could use some careful thinning of crossing branches and the like.
Japanese maples are noted for their graceful shape, so the aesthetics part is particularly important. Bad pruning can ruin the shape of the tree, if it grows awkward or ill-placed stems in response to the pruning. The general goal for a tree like this is to make cuts to out-facing buds that will encourage a graceful vase shape.
If you have some experience pruning, here is a good handout from the Univ. of California specifically about Japanese maples (the laceleaf kind, but the basics apply to any of them).
If you have never done any tree pruning, or know little about it, I highly recommend you study the subject first, and maybe test yourself on a less-prominent shrub or tree before tackling this one. I don't think it will hurt it at all to wait a year or few, if you are not ready this year.
Here are some resources to help.
An OSU series of videos on tree pruning: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/collection/pruning-pros
And a single video on the basics of pruning trees and shrubs:
