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| I'm very new to taking care of plants and the subject of pruning seems particularly daunting.
My roommate took a look at my li'l Red Swamp Maple and suggested I cut back the longest branch about half way so it would be more balanced. I'm not sure if doing so would be in the plant's best interest. The red circle in the photo shows where the nursery I purchased the tree from clipped off a branch. I tried to illustrate in red how the main branches are currently positioned. Any advise (or even links to helpful guides) would be much appreciated. Thank you very much. :) |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Thu, Jun 14, 12 at 13:14
| are you going to bonsai it... are you eventually go to plant it in mother earth??? whats your goal ... then we can tell you where to go with it ... thats a very peaty potting media you have it in.. long run.. it will hold too much water.. but for the fact that you probably cant kill a maple if you wanted to.. lol ... if you want to play with other trees .... you will want to use a cactus mix.. if it were me.. i would take off everything on the left.. and stake the right hard.. so that it straightens up ... and then.. i would plant it in mother earth this fall.. because ...next year.. will be 4 feet tall at a min.. and that pot will be too small ... bonsai is your only option.. if you are forced to keep it potted.. ken |
Here is a link that might be useful: its potential ... and it will grow very fast
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- Posted by CeliaHiggs none (My Page) on Thu, Jun 14, 12 at 13:43
| Thank you! I do plan on planting it in my yard this fall. I thought the softer/more peaty mixture would be good since this particular plant seems to suck up water like nothing I've ever seen (hah :)), but I'll definitely keep the cactus mix in mind for any other trees I purchase. The staking idea sounds really interesting- is it something I can actually do in the pot or would it need to wait until I actually plant it in the ground? Thank you again for your time and advice! |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Thu, Jun 14, 12 at 17:10
| only if there is a hole in the pot.. where you can put a stout stake.. right down thru the pot.. to hold it .. to really tie it down.. straight.. you are going to have to put some real stress on the stake/tree .. and that shallow pot .. and fluffy media.. is NOT going to hold the stake itself ... ken |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Thu, Jun 14, 12 at 17:35
| It's such a little guy, I'd just plant it and let it make its own decisions for a while in terms of forming a main leader. It easily could still do that. All the branches that presently exist, save any one which does in fact become the main stem, are temporary branches. Now since it does appear to have quite the Y crotch going there, you could shorten up the less desirable one of the two which will help the tree form a single leader. But even just planting it and doing nothing else for now is a reasonable route to take. It's a baby. I continue to not see why a potted plant can't be planted in the ground. It's not as if there's no stress on it being forced to spend the summer in a pot. And potted stuff can be planted any time the ground is workable. +oM |
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