I am planning to chop back an Amur maple. What is the best time of year? How far should I go i.e. not even leave a single branch? The tree is in the ground now and is three feet tall.

Randy, Colorado.

Dear Randy,

I would perform this act in early spring. In regards to how far you should go, that depends on what the trunk looks like. If it is pleasingly curved, I would preserve that element of interest and perform the chop just above it. If that part has branches on it, keeping them would depend on their placement along the trunk and how they would fit into the design. Most likely I would take them off and start the branching from scratch. Overall though, cut the tree where you think you will get the most benefit. You may want to consider air layering parts of the upper tree that you plan to remove. Sometimes there is a nice potential bonsai or two that you can make from green waste that you would normally discard.

Although it probably is good to take off the branches, a branch however may be put to good use to continue the taper of the trunk. Since the tree is only 3 feet tall, it probably is still fairly young and consequently does not have a lot of natural taper. Using a branch to introduce that taper may solve that problem.

At 3 feet (1m), the tree is not terribly tall to perform a chop on. Maybe it should be allowed to grow a few more years. The time invested in increasing the tree's caliper will make a lot of difference to the future bonsai. Also, the years could be used to have the tree achieve natural taper through proper pruning. No need to be impatient. However, not having seen the tree and almost every detail being left to the imagination, maybe the tree IS ready to be chopped.

About 7 years ago an associate of mine chopped back two 10' and 12' (3m) Amur maples (Acer ginnala). After growing a new crown and all the branching back, the taller of the two is now about 2' (65cm) tall with about a 3" (7cm) trunk.

Dan

Also Check Trunk Chopping: BonsaiSite.com.