Looking for advice ... I read a pretty good posting about pruning an Autumn Blaze from earlier this(?) year, and I'd love to get the same kind of input (from whaas, ken_adrian, dan_staley, gardengal48, etc.).

I rescued this Sun Valley from the local garden center (see strap marks in pictures) and it's been in the ground for about a week. The tree is about 9 feet tall and was living in a two gallon container ... very root bound. Our soil here has a very high clay content, so I've got it tied down pretty well until the roots establish themselves.

My question is about what, if anything, I should do with the three branches (leaders?). Do I prune off one or two of them to improve structure? I'm not too concerned about how it ends up looking. I've never seen an "ugly" maple tree. However, it's on the west side of the house and it's going to catch the brunt of the summer thunderstorms and winter gales. That's its job, provide shade and wind break (in 10+ years).

I've tied different color twist-ties (blue/yellow/green) on the branches to aid discussion ... and I hope these pics turn out OK. I've got multiple pictures if I can figure out how you post more than one.

Any advice out there?

Thanks, Paolo

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