It's not a Bonsai but

[j evans]

Not the best pictures as it is too late in the day but will show how much more it has grown.

 

[delblas4]

It looks like that purple monster from...? those old mcdonalds toys? or something off the Adams Family? lol idk but its quite massive!

im moving into a house that has a JM planted in a similar spot, except it isn't a weeping kind like yours; i would leave it if it was.
I'm going to try and transplant mines to the backyard. Its about 9 feet tall already and i can tell its going to be an issue as the years go by.

If i were in your shoes i would start cutting away, right now it looks like an out of control blob. But maybe you like that and its why you've been hesitant to give it a good trim?
Watch some videos, look at some pictures, draw out the branch structure and that will help you get an idea of what you can do. it will honestly be hard to mess it up.

Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[j evans]

Sorry, got the photos in there twice.

 

[Jzack605]

Try to get it in your head that one of the main reasons one grows a JM in the landscape is its structural aesthetics. Sure the soft foliage is nice, and nice red color on cultivars like yours; but they really shine in the winter when that branch structure is showing or when pruned and thinned correctly that you can see it during the growing season. But thinning is a delicate process with JM as their bark can get sun scald if not properly protected.

You not only have a dense canopy but the interior has a lot of sucker growth, which is not desirable with a JM. Start with pruning out that interior growth, deadwood and crossing branches. Take it slow, and as you prune step back and observe your process. Don't do it all in one session if you want to be very conservative.

Or I repeat, hire someone that already knows how to do this.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

I am very surprised that your under the skirt shots had that much light inside.
as far as landscaping goes it’s not horrible.
I’ve seen worse.
One of my friends has this tree and I thought of trying to get one started for myself. Turns out they really should be grafted.
Especially in my climate.
I think they are nice to look at.

 

[j evans]

In the past I have just trimmed up the bottom to make it look like a tree. Now it is getting so wide it is almost touching all three sides of the house. If it was away from the house the size would be less important. I believe this variety is suppose to be about 8 x 8.

I thought suckers were from the base of a tree or at least from the trunk.

 

[Dav4]

In the past I have just trimmed up the bottom to make it look like a tree. Now it is getting so wide it is almost touching all three sides of the house. If it was away from the house the size would be less important. I believe this variety is suppose to be about 8 x 8.

I thought suckers were from the base of a tree or at least from the trunk.

Like I said on this thread back in 2016, trees never stop growing. That 8' x 8' designation is the expected dimensions with normal growth after about 10 years... but the tree keeps growing, meaning it'll be bigger next year then it is this year... but you know that . Anyway, the options you have haven't changed... cut back or cut down. Apparently, there are arborists that specialize in pruning Japanese maples... might be worth a google search.

 

[j evans]

Over the past 4 years I've worked on it carefully. Not that you can notice other than the tree approximately the same size I wanted to share the nice color that it has this year.