Japanese maple stripped

15 years ago

I woke up one day last week and found the leader on my Bloodgood laying in tatters. It looked like something had gotten tangled up in its leaves, pulled free, and stripped the leader.

Tell me:

- Should I leave the tree alone and let it heal itself? Or

- Should I cut back the trunk that is stripped and let another branch become the leader? Maybe the branch on the left side of picture 1?

Here are a few pics for your review:

Pic 1

{{gwi:439008}}From Japanese Maple Graft

Pic 2

{{gwi:439010}}From Japanese Maple Graft

Pic 3

{{gwi:439012}}From Japanese Maple Graft

Thanks for your feedback and advice!

Tony

Comments (6)

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
15 years ago
WTD damage. It's a little less likely to happen again if you prune the larger damaged stems back to smaller branches.

Al
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
15 years ago
WTD = White-tailed deer . . . . . in case you wondered.

Al
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tonyb416
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks, Al. You'd think deer could read the "deer resistant" tags on some trees! ;-)

Tony
kaitain4
15 years ago
More than likely this had less to do with eating and more to do with conditioning a new set of antlers...

K4
seasonednurserywoman
15 years ago
What you want to do is cut back the damaged leader to about 3 inches above the next branch and seal it. Get yourself some grafting tape and secure the branch to the old leader. Prune about 3-4 inches of each branch to encourage new growth on the new leader.
Good luck!
tonyb416
Original Author
15 years ago
Seasonednurseryman -- thanks so much!

K4 -- yeah, i figured the damage wasn't due to a hungry deer -- my attempt at a joke!