The way to Prune an Orange Viridis Maple
“Viridis” maple (Acer palmatum var. Dissectum “Viridis”), a cultivar of laceleaf Japanese maple, is a powerful specimen tree for a small yard since it grows to about just 10 feet tall and also contains brilliant hues of bright orange foliage in fall. Hardy at U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 through 9, “Viridis” maple is famous for its delicate, lacelike leaves which cover the tree at a low, mounding habit. Japanese maples are well regarded for their canopy form and compact development. So just minimal pruning is imperative to maintain an orange “Viridis” maple.
Wait to prune the orange “Viridis” maple until it’s several years old. Doing this provides its narrow, whiplike branches time to develop to powerful scaffold branches that give the tree’s form. Give the tree time to take its normal shape before you make adjustments to its shape. After the branches fortify and also the tree is older, occasionally up to 10 years old, prune the tree in late winter before spring buds develop and while it’s possible to observe the division formation easily; you also can prune the tree in summer when its canopy is dense with leaves, but the leaves make viewing the branches hard.
Cut all low-hanging branches that sweep the ground or hardscapes, cutting back to the nearest intersecting division using a downward-facing, 45-degree angle cut. Whether an whole division poses a issue, you may cut it back to the tree’s trunk, but always cut just outside the protective tissue layer, called the branch collar, where the branch meets the trunk. Avoid cutting branches that tend to be thicker than one-half the diameter of the main trunk.
Cut each lifeless branch back to the nearest healthy division intersection or, if the whole division is dead, cut it back to the back. Oftentimes, pruning tools are not required because you can simply snap off the dead division.
Eliminate all branches that lack the twisting, contorted look common in “Viridis” and other laceleaf Japanese maples. As an instance, you may find a branch that sticks straight away using minimal tapering or without as numerous lateral branches as other branches of the same size.
Cut all branches which grow into sections on a lowly scaffold branch. Scaffold branches are the main structural branches that grow from the back. If branches that grow into sections on a lowly scaffold branch are not pruned, then some of those branches may get broken or attached.
Thin as much as one-fifth of the entire tree canopy to open the tree to greater air circulation. Eliminate branches with weak, narrow forks which have less than 45-degree angles, branches that rub against other branches and branches which grow inward and downward instead of upward and outward. When calculating one-fifth of the entire canopy, comprise dragging, straight and dead branches which you pruned.
Eliminate water suckers that grow from the base of the back and in division forks across the tree. Water suckers don’t develop into healthy branches and utilize the tree’s energy. Oftentimes, it is possible to simply pluck off water suckers together with your fingers, but bypass pruners might be required if you don’t catch them early enough. Eliminate water suckers as they develop throughout the year.