This Japanese Maple looks heavy, like The Blob attempting to eat the formal boxwood hedge that has been assigned to contain it.
Weeping Japanese Maples are meant to look like they are wearing a beaded curtain, revealing the silhouette of the structure beneath unique to their species.
Often, homeowners never prune them for fear ruining them, or worse, hack them back in an effort to keep them small, leaving unsightly stubs, disfiguring and smothering their amazing potential.
The owner crawled under the canopy with me and we thoughtfully removed branches until it became a light cloud hovering delicately over the hedge.
Many mature plants can be reinvented with a little strategic pruning. Turn a crazy forsythia into a graceful small tree. That wild viburnum that is screening your neighbors’ junk pile can be tamed and still do it’s job while providing a habitat for wildlife. When pruned correctly, your overgrown plants can work for you instead of making more work. The possibilities are endless!