Multi stemmed red maple.. Safe to prune out smaller stems?

PJP

Treehouser
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Nov 24, 2018
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Hi Guys,

Pictured isa multi stemmed red maple. There are two smaller stems (4” & 6”) that I would like to remove but worried about decay in to the main stem in years to come.

Any advice on this? They are ugly stems to begin with and really do nothing for the tree but obviously don’t want to create hazards.
Thanks for the help!!
 

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  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #2
On further thought... if those smaller stems grow larger would they not be taking away from the root system of the larger stem?
In other words right now there’s room for roots to grow around them and anchor the larger stem but if they grow larger the larger stem would be less stable due to the smaller stems taking up root space?? Does this make sense?
 
I would leave them be. You will always be fighting decay from the cuts and there's a good chance they will never heal properly.

Welcome to the TreeHouse!!!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6
Thanks so much for the input & thank you for the warm welcome. I've been lurking around here for some time and needed some help. Thanks again.
 
That's what I was thinking, too. Taking those two out will leave the codoms that may split anyway without cabling....the bigger they get I think the more they are likely to fail. Remove all and let the tree beside the clump have a better chance to thrive.
 
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