Should I prune these branches?

10 years ago

This is a what I believe is a autumn maple blaze tree planted by the developers in 2006.

This tree is exposed to high winds and western sun.

I was wondering if I should prune the lower portion right now, or wait a couple of weeks, or leave it alone?

Why I think I should leave it alone is we lost a tree exactly like this due to high winds and it was pruned before the storm. I almost feel these suckers provide some safeth for high winds but I have no evidence just brainstorming here.

Featured Answer

wisconsitom

10 years ago

The general appearance is that of a Freeman maple, of which 'Autumn blaze' is one such cultivar.

To address what Embo has stated, yes there is some bark cracking. The thing is, this is such a fast growing tree that quite likely, new layers of sound wood will be laid down around the old, damaged stuff. That said, these trees ("Soft" maples) are poor compartmentalizers. IT's not out of the question that this wound could eventually lead to some heart rot. But hey, it happens, and should not be considered an automatic death sentence. More likely, the tree will live on and on.

The thing other thing I see which is concerning is that this tree appears to have been planted too deep. Any chance you can strip some of that smothering sod away from the trunk, and maybe get some mulch down? Freeman maples are wetland trees in nature, so they are less sensitive to this whole planting depth issue, but I think you could still do your tree some good if you stripped some sod away from around it and applied wood chip mulch. Other than that, in five years, this tree will likely be three times the size it is now.

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Comments (8)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
id take the lower straight one off ... and all the associated little ones there ...

and i would remove some on the next two whorls... leaving only the strongest on each side ...

and then walk away ..

others can debate timing ...

the long straight one down low.. may be a response to severe damage.. under the bark ... going down from that wound above .... do you know that history ??? .. shipping damage??? ....

what is the tree.. was it a giant transplant???

i am not a wind worrier ... it better get used to it ...

ken

ps: why is the one behind it white ...
wisconsitom
10 years ago
I'd clean it up a little, just as Ken describes. Timing-wise, today's good! As would be tomorrow or the day after. Near-ideal time to prune...sure don't have to worry about a little sap. That just shows that the tree is pressurized compared to surrounding air pressure. That's an indication of good health.
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svtterminator
Original Author
10 years ago
I do not know the history of the tree as I moved in here 4 years ago. But many of my neighbors have the same trees about the same height. I'll prune away today then!

The white thing on the other tree was suggested to me buy a tree installer. It's a tree wrap that helps the bark which had sun damage during the winter. I ran out of wrap so didn't bother wrapping this other tree.

http://www.amazon.com/Jobes-5230P-Tree-Protection-Wrap/dp/B000BZ8K56/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458065023&sr=8-1&keywords=tree+wrap+jobe
Embothrium
10 years ago
If you can't get it to stop cracking open like that on that site you're probably going to be best to prune the whole tree.
svtterminator
Original Author
10 years ago
Ken I'm fairly sure it's an autumn maple blaze. The leaves turn red in the fall.
svtterminator
Original Author
10 years ago
Freeman Maple...perfect noted. I'll definitely strip some of the sod and will add mulch. Great idea and thanks for letting me know it's planted too deep.
wisconsitom
10 years ago
Ideally, you'd like to be able to see the root flare-that swollen area where trunk joins root system. It should be at or just slightly above grade.