Maple Tree- Cutting
Q: I have three young maple trees that are very tall and skinny. Should I cut some of the top off to make the trees more full?
A: Pruning the tops of the trees won’t make them become more full. The reason isn’t intuitive so a short explanation is in order. When you remove branch tips, you remove the source of hormones that regulate the growth of twigs nearby. If you “top” your trees, you’ll see lots of little branches growing next summer within twelve inches of the cut. But the hormonal regulation doesn’t extend down very far. Cutting the tree tops will have no effect on lower, already growing, branches. It is simply the nature of maples to grow tall first, and then more slowly fill out to become oval in shape. Leave the maples alone and let time make them full.
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Soil Spring Summer Seed Winter Fall Flowers Weed Fertilizer Disease Shade Temperature Pine Pots Oak Mulch Pruning Watering Container Maple Compost Herbicide Birds Moisture Tomatoes Azalea Poison Pears Hydrangea Glyphosate Cherry Caterpillar Pests Roundup Irrigation Pre-Emergent Stone Pesticide Dogwood Peach Pine Straw Spider Greenhouse Magnolia Squash Beans Squirrels Poisonous Travel Lemon
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How to Prune a Coral Bark Maple
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Walter’s Bookshelf
Browse and purchase gardening books by Walter Reeves, plus select titles by other authors.
View books -
Advertisement
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name that plant
Post your puzzlers and help others with theirs.
Start Here
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-
January calendar
January is typically the coldest winter month. Still, you can accomplish such garden tasks as sharpening...
Get The Checklist
-
-
Popular topics
Soil Spring Summer Seed Winter Fall Flowers Weed Fertilizer Disease Shade Temperature Pine Pots Oak Mulch Pruning Watering Container Maple Compost Herbicide Birds Moisture Tomatoes Azalea Poison Pears Hydrangea Glyphosate Cherry Caterpillar Pests Roundup Irrigation Pre-Emergent Stone Pesticide Dogwood Peach Pine Straw Spider Greenhouse Magnolia Squash Beans Squirrels Poisonous Travel Lemon
-
Advertisement
-
Trending Posts
-
1
English ivy leaf spot control
-
2
Dracaena surculosa blooming
-
3
Aftercare for poinsettia, amaryllis and paperwhite narcissus plants
-
4
How to Prune a Coral Bark Maple
-
5
Liriope – Crown Rot
-
1
Crapemyrtle – Which is the Right Way to Prune
-
2
English ivy leaf spot control
-
3
Aftercare for poinsettia, amaryllis and paperwhite narcissus plants
-
4
Dracaena surculosa blooming
-
5
How to Prune a Coral Bark Maple
-
-
Walter’s Bookshelf
Browse and purchase gardening books by Walter Reeves, plus select titles by other authors.
View books -
-
January calendar
January is typically the coldest winter month. Still, you can accomplish such garden tasks as sharpening...
Get The Checklist
-
-
Popular topics
Soil Spring Summer Seed Winter Fall Flowers Weed Fertilizer Disease Shade Temperature Pine Pots Oak Mulch Pruning Watering Container Maple Compost Herbicide Birds Moisture Tomatoes Azalea Poison Pears Hydrangea Glyphosate Cherry Caterpillar Pests Roundup Irrigation Pre-Emergent Stone Pesticide Dogwood Peach Pine Straw Spider Greenhouse Magnolia Squash Beans Squirrels Poisonous Travel Lemon