Greetings all JM experts!
I'm a hosta girl, so the care and feeding of a new baby Japanese Maple is foreign to me and I need your expertise.

My friend gave me a seeding from her mature tree in June. It had 2 leaves and was soooooo tiny. I simply planted it in my front garden, placed a ring of hardware cloth around it basically so I would remember where it was and not step on it. It is protected from wind by the house and a row of large pine trees. I might have fertilized it with Miracle Gro at the time (don't recall).

Took a picture of it yesterday - it has 16 beautiful leaves and looks super healthy.

So here comes fall and winter. I'm thinking I should protect it with pine mulch (free on my property) and perhaps put a large plastic pot over the whole thing to protect it from too much ice and snow. I live in the snow belt of Canada and winters can sometimes be a bit harsh.

Also, should it be trimmed of a couple of leaves? Does doing that make the core stronger or encourage off-shoots? Should I just leave it alone and see if it survives its first winter in my garden?

Please advise, and thanks!