Judy, thank you for trying to answer my one of my questions. It appears you're the only one.
There are really very few maple bonsais where I live. It's just too hot to make them a natural choice.
So I have no experience with them and although I know a few people who do I wouldn't try to pick their brain without waiting for a class or an almost 2 hour drive to visit their nursery.
I had to dig pretty deep and found a topic about 'Hardening off' and a reasonable although somewhat contrary convo between
@Smoke, @Adair and
@markyscott, who providing a photo of the topic under discussion.
Am so grateful I found that. I'd actually asked about pruning the maple on this thread and suggested to anyone reading that I guessed I should 'just prune for shape'? Oh, how wrong I was and how grateful I am for the 'hardening off' thread living forever on BN.
So thanks guys. I can't say I completely 'get it' but between those three reasonable and also differing opinions I have a better understanding. I've been afraid to wire it and I was right to be afraid. I barely know how to wire correctly for starters and not understanding the extent of the hardening off concept and when to prune I also didn't know when to wire. Thanks for the photo Markyscott. It made your point well.
Also, living in the semitropics and trying to tend to a maple is certainly different from living in a state where maples line the streets. I've never seen a maple growing where I live or south of me and I tend to spend free time at the beach so I don't recall seeing a maple growing anywhere in Florida although I'm a native.
I spent a lot of time in Michigan this year and maples were as common as palm trees are here. So our weather is not just different, it's dramatically different and not friendly to a number of deciduous trees I'd like to own.
Thanks again Judy.
It is leaf surface area that determines size of leaf. The tree needs a certain amount of leaf surface, if there are fewer leaves they will be larger, the more leaves the smaller they will be. That is why more ramification helps, as more twigs mean more leaves. You can trim back and/or defoliate tridents in your climate several times if the tree is in good health. Not all trees can handle multiple defoliations, but tridents can.