too late to chop maple?

[jimlau]

I got to this bloodgood late. it is leafing out. I have removed about30% of top foliage. i'd like to chop this much lower leaving fewer leaves.

is it too late to chop further (meaning has the tree used up the stored energy), or does it look like there would be plenty of energy left to pop many more leaves?

thanks.

 

[jk_lewis]

There's time. You could at least chop away the entire telephone pole in the middle. It serves NO purpose.

 

[jimlau]

There's time. You could at least chop away the entire telephone pole in the middle. It serves NO purpose.

suggestion on where to make cuts?

 

[ColinFraser]

suggestion on where to make cuts?

If I wanted to keep part of that center section in the final design, I would cut it to just above those lowest two shoots.

There's time. You could at least chop away the entire telephone pole in the middle. It serves NO purpose.

What about as a sacrifice to thicken the base? Could he possibly develop the branches/sub-trunks to the left and right while letting the telephone pole run to strengthen and thicken the tree? The reason I ask is that 'bloodgood' has such large leaves that it takes a larger tree to be convincing as a bonsai . . .

 

[jk_lewis]

This is the MOST I would leave of the original tree. I'd be sorely tempted to cut the entire straight upright trunk off flush with the main trunk.