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I bought this tree last year from one of the very inexpensive mail order firms (Breck's) as a "Green Japanese Maple." I must say I've been thrilled with it: The seedling arrived very healthy in a 4" pot and continued to grow vigorously last Spring; as you can see it's off to quite the start this year as well. Has anyone any idea about the cultivar? I've done a lot of comparing to photos of different varieties, but most of the ones I've found that are similar have a distinct cream band in the leaves, and mine does not.
Secondly, and actually more importantly: How do I (or should I?) prune my baby? As (I hope) you can see from the photo, it is quite bushy at the bottom, especially this year, but two long branches (and growing by the day) are jutting out and making it quite top-heavy.
Do I cut these two branches at their bases (which would break my heart, but of course I'd do it for the health of the tree!) to encourage more "balanced" growth...cut them somewhere in between...or just leave them as is (perhaps put stakes in for support) as this is the way the tree is "supposed" to be? I've read descriptions of some JMs as "twiggier" than others but I'm not sure what that means.
Complicating this is the fact that I've read that JMs shouldn't be cut during the growing season.
Any and all help for this Japanese Maple novice is appreciated!
Tom
This message was edited May 19, 2007 8:52 AM
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