Do I Dare?

[j evans]

I have had this maple for years. It is about 8 - 9" tall. A number of years ago I cut a branch off and I anticipated that the cut would heal up. Instead, it has swelled. The bump of course shows on the cut side but the swollen bump shows on the opposite side. Do I dare to trim or cut the swollen part off to clean up the trunk. I would think that healing would take years. I need some opinions. That you in advance.

 

[Shibui]

Agree that cutting back the callus is unlikely to solve the problem. My experience is that it will just do the same thing, sometimes even worse than before.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Was that maple a nursery cultivar? Is it possible that you were cutting back a branch at a graft site?

 

[BartelBe]

Give it another year's time. I will nicely close and the stem will thicken up, balancing out the whole.

 

[bwaynef]

I've never done it, but I've seen it a couple times where a tree's wound is covered with aluminum tape and that helps to form the callus in a way that swelling is prevented. There've been others, but Andrea Merrigioli (who wrote an italian book (translated to english) on Japanese Maples) comes to mind.