Best time of year to cut back Maple branches hard?

[ConorDash]

Having read this thread again... I’m trying to think about my acer P, as it WILL be cut back hard this early spring, late winter (anytime around now). It may even be trunk chopped... but it certainly won’t be warming up anytime soon for me.
Just thinking about timing.. as we know, there’s no set rule. My tree in terms of health is in the best situation it’s going to be.

I think I should do it before or at the start of phase by which the energy starts pushing up in the tree. Which is kind of now.

 

[papymandarin]

bleeding is not sap, it's water pumped passively in the vessels of the tree due to the alternance of above/below freezing temps at the end of the winter, and diluting sugars deposited as anti-freeze in the vessels. When the tree really awakens and real sap rise, there is no more beeding (and maple syrup harvesting ends because think about it, there is NO sugar in raw sap). I never had bleeding after leaf break because then the tree is in sap. I do big branch cutting back/chops between may and august, no bleeding, few risks of die back even if cutting back to a node without a sidebranch/bud (what can happen in early spring), and immediate start of healing/callousing, i don't do big cut either in automn/leaf drop since in my climate that's main time for fungal/bacterial infestation (even if symptoms appear the following year) through wounds and healing has nearly stopped.

 

[Walter Pall]

I have been trying to time my work a lot better to get the desired results. There seems to be a bunch of varying opinions on when is the best time to prune back hard on Maples.

It seems that the common answer when asking about timing for most any major work is usually "early Spring right before bud break" whether you are talking a repot or a trunk chop or just hard pruning some decent sized branches. Ok, problem solved right....? Well maybe not... I guess it depends on what your goal is. It seems, according to what I have read that if you leave long branches all winter long, the Maples set the next Spring's buds in the Fall and in Spring start funneling the energy collected in the roots tot he branch tips which- with their Apical dominance- is where the dominant buds are set normally... So, if you come in once the buds have started to swell and lop off the ends of the branches, aren't you kind of weakening the tree? Aren't you also basically waisting a bunch of the previous year's stored energy? Aren't you also creating pretty major wounds at a time when there is some pretty heavy sap flow, thus further sapping the tree's strength? Perhaps pruning in early Spring right before/ right after bud break is a great time to do it if your desired result it to sustain the shape of an established tree, but in TRAINING an incomplete tree with the idea to direct growth and increase ramification, is that a good time to prune one? Wouldn't it make more sense to do major pruning in the Fall for trees still in development- after the tree has grown for a year to remove the unchecked growth and encourage buds to set lower down the branch closer to the trunk?

I have a Red Maple I am thinking of buying- nice thick base with some low branches but has long spindly branches shooting out the top I need to remove to start developing a shape... I would probably prefer to do it in the Spring when I could get some cuttings from the pruning (saying I am hooked on propagation is an understatement).. But I just worry it might weaken the tree or set my development back almost a whole season if I wait that long... Any thoughts? Am I over thinking it?

Yes, indeed.

 

[JoeR]

Reviving this, for the fall vs. Spring pruning on maples debate if anyone has solid experience on it. Specifically tridents and JM. Erics thoughts were the same ive been considering. But I don't know if thats always the case, like when trunk chopping and digging a tree.

For instance, ive been wondering if it would be good to trunk chop my maples in the fall, and then dig them up come spring. Or if I should chop my kotohime in the fall. My #1 maple problem is anthracnose, so thats something to consider as well for timing. Spring is very wet here and the fungus is a huge, huge problem when ot comes to maples for me

 

[Hack Yeah!]

It seems most of what I've read here over the past few years has dictated summer for large branch/ trunk pruning. I've been mainly propagating my JM, but I'll layer then separate them in mid late June, leaving bare stump. They resprout and will cover 2" wounds within 2 yrs

 

[GGB]

early spring is no good for pruning unless you've just removed a bunch of roots. I do big cuts in the summer or at least after the first flush of growth has hardened/lignified. Oh and small cuts too. I MEANT to prune this fall (small stuff) but did it on the back half of the leaves changing and falling off and got some good bleeding, oops. The idea is that if you prune right at leaf change the surge of vascular growth will somewhat heal and seal the wounds just before the tree goes dormant. I have chopped JM in spring just before bud break but left a few plump buds to be safe. I didn't get burned for doing that but I won't be doing it again

 

[JuniperSol]

I came to this thread with questions wanting to be answered and walked away with a headache—nonetheless, thanks for all the info y'all. There's a lot of stuff to consider. Eric, I'm curious to see what method you ended up using or chose to use over the last few years since this thread started.

 

[MRay]

I have similar questions about the best time to prune a Japanese maple when the graft root stock has a serious branch and is fully leafed out. This is the first spring I have had the plant and I bought it over the winter so it was dormant until now. I will also add that I live in North Bay area of California with a 9a zone.

Should I let the plant continue through the year and just cut the root stock branch back to the base or can I cut it now?
On a similar note, I have a vine maple that appears to be doing the same thing. I'm afraid of killing my two little maples!
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.