Japanese Maples & Deciduous trees Winter Care and Pruning

[David P]

Is it safe to do winter pruning on Japanese Maples and any other deciduous trees in zone 10B Southern California? The leaves on all my tridents have completely fallen off and on my Acer Palmatum's the leafs are starting to fall off. I know to hold off on repotting and root pruning till spring. Just asking about general pruning and wiring. is it ok to do it or is it best to also wait until spring?

 

[Paradox]

Trimming of branches, not big cuts and wiring can be done now

 

[Apex37]

Trimming of branches, not big cuts and wiring can be done now

Out of curiousity, what would be considered ‘too big’ of a cut? I’ll have some time during Christmas break to work on some trees, but I’ve never done much winter pruning. Most of the pruning I do is during the growing season.

 

[Paradox]

Out of curiousity, what would be considered ‘too big’ of a cut? I’ll have some time during Christmas break to work on some trees, but I’ve never done much winter pruning. Most of the pruning I do is during the growing season.

I probably wouldn't want to cut anything over 1/8 of an inch. The problem is because the tree is dormant and not actively growing, it won't start to heal wounds yet. This is why most bigger cuts are done during growing season when they can start callus formation.

 

[Shibui]

I prune maples - big and small - as soon after leaf fall as practical. In warmer areas like ours the trees seem to be able to compartmentailize to protect against infection and will start building callus to close the cuts as soon as they begin to grow in spring.
I also still prune maples in summer.

 

[David P]

I prune maples - big and small - as soon after leaf fall as practical. In warmer areas like ours the trees seem to be able to compartmentailize to protect against infection and will start building callus to close the cuts as soon as they begin to grow in spring.
I also still prune maples in summer.

Very interesting thanks for your reply, there’s a lot of opinions out there on this subject. Not sure what to believe. Do you think my trees in California would respond like yours in Australia?

 

[Shibui]

Your 10A is a couple of spots warmer than the 9ish indicated for here.
You will find there's often quite a discrepancy between advice on bonsai. Some is newbies parroting what they have just learned, some is well meaning but applies to a vastly different climate. Sometimes it is just because different things work.
You'll always need to winnow the chaff from the wheat when taking bonsai advice.

 

[Poimandres]

Your 10A is a couple of spots warmer than the 9ish indicated for here.
You will find there's often quite a discrepancy between advice on bonsai. Some is newbies parroting what they have just learned, some is well meaning but applies to a vastly different climate. Sometimes it is just because different things work.
You'll always need to winnow the chaff from the wheat when taking bonsai advice.

This is great advice and important to remember. I was told in various bonsai groups that I would never be able to grow Japanese Maples in southern California which is just flat wrong.

FWIW, I pruned several of mine (bonsai & landscape) last winter and they all came back with vigorous growth in the spring. Mostly cleaning off unwanted growth and minor branches. I'd wait for doing any root work or major chops until spring.

 

[Paradox]

Your 10A is a couple of spots warmer than the 9ish indicated for here.
You will find there's often quite a discrepancy between advice on bonsai. Some is newbies parroting what they have just learned, some is well meaning but applies to a vastly different climate. Sometimes it is just because different things work.
You'll always need to winnow the chaff from the wheat when taking bonsai advice.

For transparency, I am not a "newbie parroting what I have learned". My advice is based on my experience with the species which is the only advice I can give.

I am in an area and climate where pruning large cuts on a maple this time of year isn't a good idea. Healing will be delayed because the tree is dormant.

The tree mentioned was stated as having lost its leaves for the year so figured it too was dormant and the same would apply.

Yes, a lot of bonsai advice can depend on climate where you live and a lot of learning has to come from seeing what works for you.

 

[Shibui]

For transparency, I am not a "newbie parroting what I have learned". My advice is based on my experience with the species which is the only advice I can give.

For clarity, the above comment was a general observation of what I see and hear on various forums and at clubs. I've been here long enough to recognize those who have plenty of experience so Why would I aim a newbie jab at someone with nearly 9,000 posts?
My full public apologies if you thought I was casting aspersions on your experience.

The tree mentioned was stated as having lost its leaves for the year so figured it too was dormant and the same would apply.

Since coming here I am seeing big differences in what people say works in the cooler winter areas V what we find good in the warmer zones like 9 and 10.

 

[Michael P]

Very timely discussion since I usually do a lot of my deciduous pruning in winter here in 8b. No freezing temperatures yet, but we normally have at least one or two plunges into the low teens each winter. Should I only prune small branches during winter and wait until spring for the big ones? Sometimes it does take a long time to close large cuts. Is this because of winter pruning or something else?

 

[Paradox]

Very timely discussion since I usually do a lot of my deciduous pruning in winter here in 8b. No freezing temperatures yet, but we normally have at least one or two plunges into the low teens each winter. Should I only prune small branches during winter and wait until spring for the big ones? Sometimes it does take a long time to close large cuts. Is this because of winter pruning or something else?

Coming from zone 7, this is what I do. I do small cuts in fall/winter and wait until the trees are growing to do large cuts.

The reason being, when the tree does not have leaves and is dormant in winter, it is not growing and will not start to form callus to start healing the wound until it starts growing.

It will still take the tree time to heal a large cut but it will start sooner after the cut is made if done during the growing season.

 

[Orion_metalhead]

On my deciduous I do some basic clean up of tips and small branches and light wiring. I usually do large cuts after first flush hardens off in late may to june. Im in 7b.