Too late in the season to cut back?

[Paradox]

I am not talking about a little sap dripping out. I chopped a maple this year and it bled and bled for literally days. Every time I watered it bled more. I kept reapplying cut seal but it did little to no good.
It finally stopped and then proceeded to grow like mad all summer.

The person that told me to repot at the same time as you chop was John Kirby.
I dont think I want to argue with him that he doesnt know what he is talking about.

 

[sorce]

Can you elaborate please on this moon theory?

http://bonsaistudygroup.com/general-discussion/lunar-influence-on-plants/

Bros! That was the beginning of fish pics on Bonsai Forums!

Sorce

 

[Eric Group]

I am not talking about a little sap dripping out. I chopped a maple this year and it bled and bled for literally days. Every time I watered it bled more. I kept reapplying cut seal but it did little to no good.
It finally stopped and then proceeded to grow like mad all summer.

The person that told me to repot at the same time as you chop was John Kirby.
I dont think I want to argue with him that he doesnt know what he is talking about.

Come on now, didn't you read the post earlier.. "Trees do not bleed, only animals do that"!

I don't think anyone is saying you or this Kirby person do not know what you are talking about regarding doing a chop when you repot, I do the same thing often. The point about the trees "bleeding", was to ask if people have ever noticed any ill effects from a Maple dripping after being cut? I ask because people seem to offer up all sorts of advice about timing their cuts to avoid this drip, but I have never seen any evidence that it is a big concern for the health of a tree. In my experience, the tree doesn't seem to care at all.

 

[0soyoung]

I chopped a maple this year and it bled and bled for literally days. Every time I watered it bled more. I kept reapplying cut seal but it did little to no good.
It finally stopped and then proceeded to grow like mad all summer.

(To echo Eric Come on now, pay attention to the facts you know.

--> it bled and bled, then it grew like mad.

Why aren't you, instead, trying to convince us that we all need to bleed our trees in the spring to make them grow vigorously (like a good midieval arborist)? This at least could be a logical inference from the facts as you have related them.

 

[LanceMac10]

I've experimented with ill-timed cuts on maples. If anything, leave stubs on larger branches low on the trunk.
Some die-back will occur if you cut flush to the trunk. It will still grow but you might see some damage on the trunk adjacent to the cut.
Maples weep, it's just gonna' happen, time it to take advantage of repot proximity and the longest growing period you can provide.

 

[rockm]

Prune in late winter--like February, NOT in springtime. Spring is when sap is rising in maples. That's the principle behind gathering maple syrup.--BTW, sugar maples used to make syrup have been "bled" for decades (and they bleed GALLONS of sap) and they live a very long time.

The moon has nothing to do with it. The sun does. Sap rises when the soil warms. If the tree is still dormant when you prune, it will not "bleed" as much.

 

[Paradox]

I haven't chopped many maples only a few so I can only say I don't have much experience with it and can only rely on what more experienced people say. John Kirby is one of those people.

My track record thus far on trunk chopping maples isn't great. I've tried chopping 4 and 3 died. This one might just have been stronger or had a greater desire to live. I don't know, but as much as the one that lived bled, I thought it was a goner for sure. I am happy it survived.

 

[Dav4]

...and the reason re-potting and chopping at the same time leads to less "bleeding" is compromised root systems can't absorb as much water from the soil as intact root systems. Less water absorption means less sap being pushed up from the roots...

 

[LanceMac10]

I do most of Maple work in late Feb. early March.

Spring comes later around here seemingly every year....

 

[Paradox]

I understand the mechanism and why they bleed. Once I was told to root prune, it made sense. Also coincides with why it bled more after watering.