[oldpunk78]

Ok, so we bought our house we're in about 9 months ago and I've been slowly working on the landscaping. I know I should have done this in the winter but I figured I better learn sooner than later.

This Japanese maple has some issues and I'd like to learn how to prune it properly. Two of the main branches were broken off at some point.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[oldpunk78]

What can I do about the fact that 2 places where the tree forked are not there? What would happen if I just left a small branch at a forked area and trimmed off some of the smaller branches on the trunk?

 

[oldpunk78]

We moved in the mid august last year. The house had been vacant for roughly 6 months. During that time the previous owner had left the water on but had the irrigation system cut back to just keep stuff from dying. The tree was looking really rough and some/most of the top branches were fried the hot summer with minimal water. I cut all the dead stuff off during the winter. The last two weeks the tree has really taken off. I didn't prune off the tips on the top because I didn't know if they were dead or not.

Thanks Laura.

Here's a better shot of what's happening up top:

 

[oldpunk78]

Thanks guys. I guess I have plenty of time to figure it out. I think I'll just continue to remove the dead parts and just let it get healthy again.

 

[oldpunk78]

What a difference a week makes. This thing is sprouting leaves like crazy.

 

[oldpunk78]

Thanks for all the responses everyone. I feel much more confident about where I'm going with the tree now.

Not so much related to tree pruning but kinda cool none the less. Along the back of the house, someone started a ground cover next to a walkway that leads around to the side yard. Looks like:

I really like this stuff. Not sure what's it's called but it's really prolific. Came back after freezing temps and snow. Dealt with heat in the summer so far.

I just found more of it and I'm planning on doing a miniature rock garden in between the trees and along the side yard with this stuff as the ground cover. It should look just like an amano tank with hc.

anyone know what is?

Edit - I figured it out. I guess it's called ground cover mint. Can't find its real name though.

 

[oldpunk78]

Looks like I'm zone 9.

 

[oldpunk78]

You guys are such a wealth of information.

Check out this cactus. We've had this for like 10 years now and it's never flowered until now. We got it from my grandmother's house and she picked it off the side of the road in a dessert 60 years ago. Anyone wanna tell me what it is?

 

[oldpunk78]

I have no idea where it came from other than the south west. It's some kind of night flowering cactus. I guess this only once every 10-15 years. Here's a crappy pic of a flower. It just opened this evening.

The smell is amazing. I'll try to get some better pics.

 

[oldpunk78]

It looks like there are still more that will bloom soon. Here's another crappy pic of the whole group:

Later this afternoon