Prunning Amur Maple Shrubs - Ask Extension
Hello,
I am looking for guidance in pruning my Amur Maple shrubs. As seen in the attached photos, I have been trimming the shrubs twice a year with a...
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Prunning Amur Maple Shrubs #818299
Asked January 09, 2023, 11:16 AM EST
Hello,
I am looking for guidance in pruning my Amur Maple shrubs. As seen in the attached photos, I have been trimming the shrubs twice a year with an electric trimmer to obtain the globular shape, however the shrubs are becoming too large to comfortably trim, and the interiors are thin of vegetation. What would be the best course of action to reduce the size of the shrubs and to maintain the globular shape? Will new growth occur if the shrubs were pruned down to say one, two or three feet from the ground? When would be the optimal time of the year to perform the pruning? Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Olmsted County Minnesota
Expert Response
I think you need to call a professional trimmer in on this one. I could not find anything on specifically pruning an Amur Maple as a shrub and would hate to give you erroneous information.
The shrub interiors are getting thin because of lack of light, so the top needs to be opened up. Generally, you shape a hedge to be narrower at the top so light can get into the interior, but with Amur they tend to spread horizontally.
Some shrubs will respond to being severely cut back, but I couldn't find any information specifically on the Amur.
The best time to prune is in the spring and again in the summer.
For the time being you can control the height by pruning only a few inches of woody growth each year, over several years, to avoid harming the tree. Maples pruned this way tend to spread horizontally which is what you see in the form of your tree. Also prune out any dead wood while you are at it.
Hope this helps a little.
The shrub interiors are getting thin because of lack of light, so the top needs to be opened up. Generally, you shape a hedge to be narrower at the top so light can get into the interior, but with Amur they tend to spread horizontally.
Some shrubs will respond to being severely cut back, but I couldn't find any information specifically on the Amur.
The best time to prune is in the spring and again in the summer.
For the time being you can control the height by pruning only a few inches of woody growth each year, over several years, to avoid harming the tree. Maples pruned this way tend to spread horizontally which is what you see in the form of your tree. Also prune out any dead wood while you are at it.
Hope this helps a little.
