Winter Pruning of Japanese Maples

Japanese maples should be pruned to remove deadwood every year. This project should be done before the maples leaf out so the Winter is an excellent time of year to do this. The tree pruned in this video is Acer palmatum var. dissectum but this pruning can be done on any Japanese maple.
The deadwood is white or grayish-white in color so it is very easy to see against the red color of the live wood. If you've never pruned your Japanese maple, there will be a lot of deadwood. Japanese maples with a lot of deadwood become stressed. Removing the deadwood relieves congestion and promotes good air circulation and will improve the health of your tree.
Once the deadwood is all removed, live wood can be trimmed as necessary for aesthetics. If live wood is pruned later in the Winter, some sap flow will occur. This is not a problem, but too much pruning over the summer can weaken the tree, so most of this type of pruning should be done in the Winter or very early Spring.
Once this type of pruning is done every year, there will be not be an overwhelming amount of deadwood the following Spring.

[@SN-sz7kw]

Thank you! New garden & we’re just beginning to let our poor maple grow out of being lollipopped. Time to give it its first reshaping & a new life.

[@HerrVen]

Greetings from the Netherlands. Just found your channel, this video particular was very helpful. Thanks.

[@davidsilver6253]

Thank you for your comment. I appreciate it. I'm glad the video was helpful.

[@JacqueGonzalesTube]

Thank you so much for this video! I’ll be working on our Japanese Maple for the first time this weekend!

[@davidsilver6253]

Thank you for your comment. I'm glad the video was a help to you. You may get a lot of deadwood if you haven't worked on it but if you continue each Spring, you'll get less deadwood each Season.

[@robinhogan5432]

Great video and thanks for the pruning tips

[@davidsilver6253]

Thank you for the comment. I'm glad to be of help

[@amyescobosa6656]

Very thorough information thank you

[@davidsilver6253]

Thank you very much. I'm glad to be of help.

[@rogerthompson1622]

This will sure help me when I start work tomorrow on four fifteen year old dwarf maples that have got out of hand !

[@davidsilver6253]

That's a lot of maples!! Be sure to get at them in very early Spring before they leaf out to remove deadwood. It is very difficult to do in the Summer. Be sure to watch my video on that process.

[@kevinthomas2470]

Curious if you've tried propagating some of the smaller, living, cuttings that you took off. My japanese maple arrived yesterday -- trying to learn everything I can before the growing season kicks in here in PA

[@davidsilver6253]

Your best bet of propagating is to use maple seedlings. They must be cold hardened. Collect the seedlings in the Fall and put them in an envelope. The seedlings in the envelope should stay in the fridge for the Winter and then in the Spring you can plant them in a mixture of half sand and half potting mix.
A leaf cutting will not work.
You can also try air layering branches. I will be having a video on air layering using Ficus. If you like flower pressing, maple leaves make excellent material. See the video on flower presses.

[@kevinthomas2470]

@@davidsilver6253 Gpt it. Thanks

[@GerryBerndt-gn4zi]

Hi how big do these Japanese maples grow .Thanks

[@davidsilver6253]

The one in the video is Acer palmatum dissectum. This type of Japanese maple grows in a mounded shape and gets to be about 8 feet to 10 feet in height and width. The one in this video has been kept to be about 3 feet in height and 5 feet in width by pruning every year. When planting in the landscape, give it plenty of room. They can get quite wide. By the way, this type of material is excellent for bonsai. In that case they are kept to be about two feet in height and as wide!