Last year I defoliated a shohin Japanese maple in an effort to stimulate back buds (see “Defoliating a Japanese maple“). The approach worked (see the “Follow-up“).
This year I want the shoots that developed from these back buds to grow strong. To encourage this, I removed the leaves from the established branches and left the new shoots alone. This gives the new branches a chance to catch up while the older branches produce new leaves.
Shohin Japanese maple
After removing the leaves on the outside branches – 7″ tall, 13″ wide
From above
That’s the bulk of the work for the tree this spring. Depending on how it responds, I’ll look to prune later this summer or in fall.
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