Small-leaved Trident Maple, Acer buergerianum ‘yatsabusa’
Not quite a formal upright, but close! All over-sized leaves are removed throughout the growing season. The outer canopy is completely defoliated in May/June. New branches are stopped at one pair of leaves at the extremities of the tree, while freer growth is allowed on the interior. About 3 or 4 cm of the apex was removed in 7/2016 to correct a prominent kink and make the overall design a little more compact.
Future development: Some TLC will now be needed before the apex re-grows and the tree will be ready for another show, but I am hoping to refine the branches as well during this period. I will also rearrange some of the surface roots to encourage them to grow into one another and increase the size of the desirable root plate at the base of the trunk.
