Japanese Maples

I have pruned and cared for most of these japanese maples on a single customer property for several years, except for the youngest which I give time for them to tell me what they want to do.

Species are not indicated as most are unknown, at least to me - doesn't matter.

The japanese maple in the first photo I named Mother because she is the most mature of the ten-plus japanese maples on the property. She was about a two-footer when she was planted about 20 years ago.


(Click on any image to enlarge it.)

The second one is Crazy Girl. She gets this yellow and green thing going on in the spring and I prune her differently than any other to take advantage of it.

The next two are Acer palmatum dissectum or Fringe Leaf. (Sorry about the lighting.)

Because of their more lateral growth/branching habit, I break away from the one-third below canopy rule because the branch structure allows it.

The fifth image is of one with a vertical growth habit and the other, more lateral.

The sixth image is Alien. The customer and I simply decided to let her go about whatever she was doing with that funky upward angled branch.

Seventh, is Happy - not so happy right now. She's in rehab. Other than Mother she was the fullest, had the best balance and wonderful crimson foliage in the fall. She also receives the most sun and those stones which were all the way up to her trunk weren't helping. I pulled back and tossed most of the stones. I also had to rid her of many dead branches, fertilize and water regularly. She appears to be recovering and hopefully she will because name changes aren't allowed.

Eighth on the list are two dwarf weeping japanese maples.

The last few photos are of other japanese maples on the property.