Heat and Shears: Pruning Japanese Maples in Summer!

This post contains affiliate links.

This post contains affiliate links.

Japanese maples are one of the most popular small ornamental trees in our landscapes, and with good reason!  There are so many shapes, sizes and colors.  Oh and don’t forget the fall color- spectacular even in warmer climates that are not known for fall colors.

Proper pruning is so very important for the success and health of your tree.  Pruning at the wrong time or pruning out the wrong branches or pruning out the wrong quantity can set your tree back, and it may not recover.  Do not let that stop you- remember, pruning Japanese maples can be like cutting hair- you can always cut a little more, but you can not just glue it back on after cutting, so take it slow, stand back and be intentional with your cuts.

How to prune a Japanese Maple in the summer:

1. Decide why you are pruning, if not one of the 4 reasons above; consider postponing pruning until cooler weather.
2. Use chalk to mark the limbs to cut- visualize the shapes left from that limb removal, plan, plan, plan.
3. Collect your pruning tools, sharpen if necessary.  If you do not remember when sharpened last- sharpen.

4. Sterilize the blades- disinfectant wipe is what I use- portable and easy
5. Make the cut, without leaving stubs outside the branch collar – wrinkled growth area where the limb connects to main trunk or branch.  Leave the growth collar on the tree.
6. Step back and evaluate before making your next cut.
7. Don’t prune off more than ⅓ live wood, if you take more- it will shift your Japanese Maple into survival mode, and the new growth will be long and spindly, which will only require further pruning later.

The best pruning results in quick healing- this reduces the chances of insects or disease entering in the wounds.  If there is a severe drought without sufficient irrigation, a heat wave, or other major stressors, your tree will be delayed in healing growth to close the wound.  Avoid these conditions when pruning whenever possible.

Yes, you can prune during summer, however do avoid stressors so the tree can recover and close the pruning wounds swiftly.

https://youtu.be/dxyN5kQk35I?si=2qCoPPVDpScYAtmL pruning young trees

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304423819304236

http://virtualorchard.com/idfta/cft/2003/august/page60.pdf

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BesideTheFrontDoor - Smallgrove is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. We also participate in other affiliate programs which compensate us for referring traffic.