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Original poster

Removing an Acer

20 replies

Towcester · 27/05/2022 22:49

My border is too crowded now so may have to sacrifice this. Nowhere else to put it so I think it will be binned. I already tried pruning it but did a bad job so it looks butchered.

So, are they hard to remove from the ground? It's about 6 foot in height. Since I don't need it it would be easier to cut off most of it s branches first to make the size more manageable and help with access I guess and then dig around it. As I said, it's a crowded border. Is this something one person could do or is it going to ve a battle with risk of damaging neighbouring plants?

OP posts:
CombatBarbie · 27/05/2022 22:58

Oh gosh, people pay good money for acers that tall!! Can you not put it in a pot to recover from its haircut. If you can't you need a proper digging out spade. It's like a long spade with serrated edges. Will seperate the tree from main roots without damaging anything else tangled up in the roots.

VegetablesAreMyFriends · 27/05/2022 23:31

Wow! You could sell it on Facebook easy enough. Salvage it and pot it up in a huge pot. Then sell it

JaneJeffer · 27/05/2022 23:32

Yes sell it. My acer didn't take and I was so disappointed.

SignOnTheWindow · 27/05/2022 23:40

Blimey, don't bin it! I've seen a 6ft acer for sale at just shy of 1k at a local mature plant centre.

Original poster
Towcester · 28/05/2022 00:26

Right, didn't realise. Might try and pot it then.

OP posts:
yesthatisdrizzle · 28/05/2022 16:10

You couldn't possibly have chosen a worse time of year to do it.

And I agree with others, you have probably cost yourself rather a lot of money. People will pay a lot for a good-sized acer.

bumpertobumper · 28/05/2022 16:13

Leave it until the autumn if you can, then dig it up and put it in a pot.
Trees are much more likely to survive if moved when dormant.

ElspethBoomingHowsen · 28/05/2022 16:17

Poor acer! I absolutely adore them and can’t wait for mine to get to that size

Wheretheskyisblue · 29/05/2022 06:06

What are the neighbouring plants? I would look at removing some of them before removing an acer.

BlueKaftan · 29/05/2022 06:13

Blasphemy to remove an Acer.

Floweryflora · 29/05/2022 06:46

That’s like saying my 50k Mercedes’ makes my drive look crowded, so think I will smash it up then bin it.

Op, it’s prob one of the most valuable things in your garden. Leave it be and see if it will recover from the bizzare butchering of it, then you can sell it, ask the buyer to remove.

if it doesn’t recover then I guess not, and you’ve just burned about a thousand quid.

user1469095927 · 29/05/2022 06:59

Floweryflora · 29/05/2022 06:46

That’s like saying my 50k Mercedes’ makes my drive look crowded, so think I will smash it up then bin it.

Op, it’s prob one of the most valuable things in your garden. Leave it be and see if it will recover from the bizzare butchering of it, then you can sell it, ask the buyer to remove.

if it doesn’t recover then I guess not, and you’ve just burned about a thousand quid.

Our Acer survived me "pruning" vigorously - agree with others posts - beautiful tree. I would remove plants round about the Acer.

wanderingscot · 29/05/2022 07:01

I would redesign the border round the Acer.That's probably the most valuable plant and impressive plant there. A proper statement plant.

They don't like being moved - you run the risk of killing it. If you do move it, wait til winter when it's dormant

chipshopElvis · 29/05/2022 07:15

My neighbours have just removed a massive one by chopping it down and then digging out the roots, but I was nearly crying it felt like they were murdering something it was such a beautiful tree!

Floweryflora · 29/05/2022 08:29

@user1469095927

agree actually, I prune my mature ones and they are fine. I guess the issue is if it now looks butchered as she says, depending on how bad it is it might not be recoverable to look decent

the last owners of our house cut one which must have been massive and now it’s got a straight up trunk about five feet high and a sort of thick canopy of little shoots umbrella like from the sides of the top. Looks very very odd, but it’s thriving, so I leave it be. It will never grow up from the top again though, as they had butchered it.

if I was the op I’d leave it be and remove the other plants, make that the main feature of the border.

Original poster
Towcester · 29/05/2022 10:31

It's behind another Acer of similar size. When I moved in I didn't have a clue really but bought a couple of little Acers at Aldi, planted them too close together. One would have been enough.

The one I am thinking if removing is kind of merging into the back of the other Acer on one side and right up against a wall at the back blocking all the light for the climbers I am trying to get going up that wall.

OP posts:
Original poster
Towcester · 29/05/2022 10:36

Pic here. It is two Acers though hard to tell. Will keep the one at the front.

Removing an Acer
OP posts:
Original poster
Towcester · 29/05/2022 10:40

Pruned especially at the back since it was stifling the young climbers and just had nowhere to go.

Removing an Acer
OP posts:
Yamadori · 29/05/2022 11:06

You could always prune the one at the front to keep it bushy, and remove all the lower branches from the one at the back and let it grow it as a tree instead.

Japanese maples don't grow enormous, their eventual mature height is about 4 to 5 metres at the most.

wanderingscot · 29/05/2022 22:55

I would just take off the lower branches, which will give the whole thing a lift

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