Big Leaf Maple trees - Ask Extension
Good morning
My name is Peter Kugler. We live just south of Springfield Ore, in the Jasper Road area. We live on 30 acres of land that was log...
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Big Leaf Maple trees #889312
Asked November 04, 2024, 11:29 AM EST
Good morning
My name is Peter Kugler. We live just south of Springfield Ore, in the Jasper Road area. We live on 30 acres of land that was logged about 8 years ago, replanted and then sold to us. It is a predominatly a south acing property.
My question is what to do with the big leaf maple that are coming back with a vengeance ! The big leaf that are growing back are coming back in clumps of multiple trunks, see the pic below for an example.
I don't want to get rid of them, we love the colors in the fall, but do I need to be trimming them back to jsut one or two trunks? I have been looking for some resources such as books on how to deal with the Maples but everything I see is geared towards nursery bought trees. Any ligature you might know of that address this and youcould direct me towards would be great.
Thanks for any advise you can provide.
Peter Kugler
Lane County Oregon
Expert Response
Unfortunately, there isn't much literature out there on bigleaf maple. There is more coming out now that making maple syrup from them is growing in popularity, but those focus on syrup production. If that interested you, check out Nontimber Forest Products for Small Woodland Owners: Bigleaf Maple Syrup or The bigleaf maple project.
If not, you still have a couple options. You can leave the tree to slowly "self thin" allowing the tree to ultimately chose the stems to maintain. Or you can thin them. Leave two or at most three sprouts to a clump, as widely spaced as possible, to assure good growth and form. Generally, you should thin them early and preferably when stems are 3 inches or less.
Maple trees contain sap, which will "bleed" if the tree is pruned in early spring or late winter. To avoid this phenomenon, pruning may be put off until mid-summer or early fall.
When pruning make cuts at an angle rather than vertically. To thin out a branch canopy, the entire branch is cut away back to its first joint next to the trunk. Prune away branches that are growing laterally across other branches. Do not cut into the collar of the branch, the ridge which is found just at the base of the branch itself, to avoid damage to the tree.
If not, you still have a couple options. You can leave the tree to slowly "self thin" allowing the tree to ultimately chose the stems to maintain. Or you can thin them. Leave two or at most three sprouts to a clump, as widely spaced as possible, to assure good growth and form. Generally, you should thin them early and preferably when stems are 3 inches or less.
Maple trees contain sap, which will "bleed" if the tree is pruned in early spring or late winter. To avoid this phenomenon, pruning may be put off until mid-summer or early fall.
When pruning make cuts at an angle rather than vertically. To thin out a branch canopy, the entire branch is cut away back to its first joint next to the trunk. Prune away branches that are growing laterally across other branches. Do not cut into the collar of the branch, the ridge which is found just at the base of the branch itself, to avoid damage to the tree.
