japanese maple dilemma

[painter]

ive got a couple of japanese maple seedlings in the ground and feel that the first branch is too high.
should i :
a: wait to the trunk thickens to appropiate size and chop?(as per bonsai4me)
b:chop now leaving the first branch as new leader and hope for lower buds?
c: chop below all buds and pray?
thanks

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Photos? If the maple is in the ground I don't think there is too much risk cutting it back hard if you do it at the right time in the spring.

 

[cquinn]

Trident maples go into the ground. Japanese maples go into boxes.

 

[noissee]

I would grow it out for trunk size and then chop. Maples bud back pretty well. Even if it doesn't, grafting is a great option with maples. I would follow bonsai4me. Cquinn is right though, if you can, you should try to build a nice wide growbox.

 

[djlen]

If you have the option, spring is almost always the best way to go. Let it rest until dormancy is almost over.

 

[cquinn]

You cut Japanese maples before Spring. If you wait until the sap rises they will bleed profusely. It can even kill the tree. Japanese maples are as different from Tridents as night and day. They also don't heal over as well as Tridents, and that's why its actully better to grow them slowly in a box with multiple cuts over time. If you grow a big one and chop it like a Trident it will never look right. That isn't the way Japanese maples are handled. It takes a much longer time to develope a nice Japanese Maple than it does a Trident.

 

[painter]

thanks for the replies,
im not too computer savy to post pics,
and its only a little thicker than a pencil as of now.
i have a feeling it will shoot up next year tho.(3rd yr in the ground)
thanks again
p