hard reduction of Japanese acer

[Swampster]

Can you pollard an acer palmatum and rest assured that you will get reasonable regrowth? A client has is recently moved in and inherited an example which is around 6metres high and overwhelming their property, options are reduce massively or remove.

Opinions and experience sought, thanks.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

they HATE anything more than light secteur or bypass pruner type work

[Swampster]

That is as maybe but I'm trying to spare a day out for the stump grinder.....

They are going to be there a while and are looking for long term options. An attempt at establishing a smaller canopy is my aim at the moment. Just wondering if anyone has tried and what results they had.

[Phil71]

Hi Swampster,

I've exactly the same situation with a customer of mine. The tree is smaller than yours, but blocking the front lounge window. I've told them that it's worth trying to reduce it and retain it as a smaller tree, but warned them that it might die as a result. A case of nothing to lose, I think.

[Stephen Blair]

I'd transplant it.

It would be more dignified even if it didn't make it than a topping:(

I've moved a 15' in the height of summer in a dry spell.

It dropped its leaves within a week, came back the next year and it's been going strong for about 5 years now.

If you can get a machine in to help all the better.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

[MATTMOSS]

I have just had exactly the same job for the in laws, significant reduction or remove. I have just done a good reduction with secutares and it seems to be doing ok.

 

Also brought a smaller one back from the dead- it had been left in a pot and not watered and was in a real poor state.

I smashed the old pot of it, carefully cut open the root bound ball, removed all deadwood and repotted, after a couple of years with some tlc it came back well.

Only for the garden table to blow over in high winds and snap it in half leaving me to cut it off at a 4'' stump which is now coming back into leaf .

 

So in my experience they are quite forgiving to work with, I would go for the reduction, you have nothing to lose.

[Hodge]

I have seen quite a few hard reductions done on Acers and they always look bad, lots of dead stubs, peeling bark and lots of eppicormic growth as a result.

 

 

Hodge

[daltontrees]

Can you pollard an acer palmatum and rest assured that you will get reasonable regrowth? A client has is recently moved in and inherited an example which is around 6metres high and overwhelming their property, options are reduce massively or remove.

Opinions and experience sought, thanks.

 

As others have said, A.p doesn't like being pruned. The people who owned our house before us had one and pruned it lightly and it took to it very badly and only two years of fairly intensive management got it back to full strength.

 

I cna't prove it, but I feel that a few large bold branch removals may be better than lots of small ones. The tree can then consolidate in a more compact form. I wouldn't prune in summer, this will probably restrict regrowth. I would do it in early early spring and would feed afterwards and again in the summer.