PSA: I pruned my 20 year old Japanese maple in August and half the branches died back. Am I the only one who was taught this was fine?

Sarah Jackson · 2026-10-10T01:35:04.710711+00:00

Six years into running my own tree care gig here in Tacoma and I'm still learning things the hard way. Back in August I had a client with this gorgeous 20 year old Japanese maple that was way overgrown into their porch, and I figured it was no big deal to take a few limbs off since it was just a light prune. Two months go by and I get a call back saying half the cuts turned black and died back a solid 8 inches, so now I'm out there with a pole saw cutting dead wood I created myself. The old timer who trained me always said summer pruning is fine for maples because the tree can seal cuts fast while it's growing, but everything I read now says wait until late winter when it's dormant. So who's right here? I lost a $450 job over this and I'm still not sure if it was the timing, the heat that week, or that I didn't sanitize between cuts. What's your rule for pruning maples and do you actually stick to it, or do you just tell clients it depends?

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PSA: I pruned my 20 year old Japanese maple in August and half the branches died back. Am I the only one who was taught this was fine? | Arborists - HW Forums