A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum pruning a flowering maple

Hello. I've had a flowering maple for a couple of years. Last year, it bloomed beautifully for awhile, but then I had some real bud drop and it hasn't flowered since (for about a year now). at one point all the leaves dropped. It seems better now ... leaves are growing back, but some of the new growth turns yellow quickly and the leaves never seem to get very large. The plant itself is probably only about a foot and a half tall, and seems to be growing slowly. i would love to have a fuller plant and everything ive read says to prune! but i have no idea where to start. the "trunk" of the plant is about four inches tall (but looks like it has a couple centimeters of dead wood at the top.) there are four long vertical branches coming off the "trunk" that are about six inches tall or so and have new growth at the top. there is also new growth at the bottom of the branches, but for about 4 inches in the middle totally bare!

i really love this plant but i'm not sure how to prune it (how much, where, etc) and i dont want to just start hacking into it. any suggestion are greatly appreciated!! thanks!

A very good question Alycion. I have two flowering maples, one variegated and one not. One blooms orange with red and the other yellow with red veins. I have pruned both. Both trees are potted and are at least eight feet in height. I found that after I pruned the tops, both maples began with buds, and lots too. I'm in zone 9 and pruned a month or so ago. I'll be interested to read what others have to say. Hope this helps.
As a side note, I do fertilize both trees in spring and summer. Have you fertilized yet?

It does sound like a fertilizer problem, either too much or not enough.
I have such a hard time pruning my flowering maples. The flowers are at the ends of the branches and I feel bad cutting them off. But the FMs get very leggy and bare without at least some tip pinching to force side growth. Side growth means more branches with blooms at the tips. So prune those branches by about half. And cut off the dead growth. Your plant will be happier and healthier.

Thanks so much!! I cut the branches back (while wincing!! haha) like you recommended. Hope to see some flowers and new growth soon!