my maple tree looks sad (landscaping, growing, trees, spring)

[gunslinger256]

My house was built roughly 5 years ago, but the maple tree they planted just doesn't look very nice. All of the other trees on my street look nice and full but the limbs on my tree all grow vertical. I think my tree must have been wrapped too long and the limbs were trained to grow at an acute angle to the trunk instead of nice wide growth.

Not sure what to do with it other than trimming it or chopping it down.

[Zoisite]

Can you post a picture of the tree and its very immediate surroundings? It would be necessary to see what kind of maple it is and to get a look at all the branches to determine if anything (maybe selective pruning) can be done with the branches to improve its appearance and encourage new lateral branch growth that is less vertical. Depends on what kind of maple it is though.

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[Hemlock140]

Maples do tend to grow out many new shoots when pruned. In fact, for bonsai I have chopped them leaving only a trunk and they sprouted out all new limbs in time. That has been with our native big leaf maples and also several varieties of Japanese Maples. I don’t suggest that for yours, but I would agree with Zoisite, selective pruning in early spring, before the buds swell.

[fisheye]

Here is one link I found that might help: https://dengarden.com/landscaping/Maple-Tree-Problems. Our Maples develop problems with the sooty mold late in the season; but they come back good the next season. We have had problems with ants in them in the past; but they are larger maples and a little spraying for carpenter ants seems to have solved that problem.

[gunslinger256]

I've got my pictures, but haven't posted pictures in a long time. Is there a preferred no-cost picture hosting service these days?

[LIcenter]

Originally Posted by gunslinger256

I've got my pictures, but haven't posted pictures in a long time. Is there a preferred no-cost picture hosting service these days?

Hope this helps. It's easier than it sounds.

//www.city-data.com/forum/814124-post3.html

Use this site to host your picture. This is probably easier because the picture you want to post is probably already on your local drive. This will allow you to upload the photo from your local drive to this site and post it as an attachment to your post which can then be made to display in its entirety within your post. Here is the procedure:

Click on the little paper clip icon located above the text box. Another window will open up that's called "Manage Attachments."

Choose the pictures from you local drive that you want to display by clicking on the "browse" button.

Once a picture is chosen from your local drive, click on the "upload" button.

When upload is complete, you'll see the attachment listed under "Current Attachments."

Repeat the procedure for the rest of the pictures you want to be displayed.

When finished, go back to the little paper clip icon and click on it.

When the menu drops down, you'll see the list of attachments you just uploaded. Choose which ones you want to show up in your post or select "insert all" if you want all the pictures you just uploaded to be displayed in your post.

After doing this, you'll see in the text box the attachement number with the "attach" tags [ ] wrapped around it.

Your pictures will now be set up to show inside your post in thumbnail form.

If you wish them to display in proper size within the post, do this:

Go back to the "Manage Attachments" window.

Under the list of "Current Attachments," you will see the list of all the pictures you uploaded to this site as attachments.

Find the location of the photo or its URL assigned to it here at C-D. If using a PC, right click on the item and choose "Copy Link Location" or bring the picture up by clicking on it. Once you are viewing the picture, right click and find its location.

Use the location as the URL you use to enclose in the IMG tags or paste into the IMG button above your post.

You'll then see the URL of its location here at C-D. It should now be enclosed in with the IMG tags.

You are now ready to post your message on the board. Your pictures will then be displayed in proper size within your post.

[gunslinger256]

here's a picture of my tree with the neighbor's tree in the background. Their tree is the same age as mine.

2nd picture shows my other neighbor with a much fuller and older tree.

[gentlearts]

Your tree looks healthy, but I would try some selective pruning. If you aren’t comfortable doing it yourself, hire an expert.

[LIcenter]

Your tree looks like a type that has up swept branching. The photo to the right looks like different type of tree. It looks healthy tho. I agree, a little pruning may help it along.

[Zoisite]

As much as I hate to say this about a seemingly healthy tree, I'm going to say I think you should replace that tree with a different variety of tree. It's hard to tell what kind of maple it is in the pictures, but the tree has way too many branches growing too close together and vertically all crowding and competing with each other to be the vertical leader, and all competing with the actual original leader (the main trunk is the leader).

When you have so many crowding branches competing with the true leader it is debilitating for the entire tree, it encourages diseases and pests, and eventually branches will start weakening, dying and breaking off. And if you get an arborist in there to do some selective pruning to open it up in the interior it may strengthen the tree but is still going to take years before it's all fixed and new branches are encouraged to grow more horizontally and improve the appearance.

Frankly I think all the effort and extra time and money you'll have to expend to have an arborist try to fix the tree is not worth it. I think it would be easier and give you immediate results of desirable appearance to replace the tree with a different variety of tree that's in better health and better physical appearance and condition.

I see in the first picture that your neighbour's tree of the same variety is also having similar vertical growth problems and is showing a couple of damaged, unhealthy bare branches low down on the tree that look dead already.


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