How and when do I prune my Red Maple?

Question

My tree as about 2 or three years old and has lots of little shots growing around the bottom. Does this mean it is time to prune? Is this the right time of year and how close should I prune to the tree? I don't want there to be growth at the very bottom of my trees but Im not sure how and when to prune and keep my trees healthy. Will pruning these shots at the bottom help my tree grow faster?

Answer 1

Is it a maple or an ancer (japanese maple)?

Personally I perfer to prune either in early spring before they bud. Acers, I've been told by arborists have a tendency to "bleed out" in summer.  

However, the suckers you should be able to remove now. These pull away nutrients, etc from the main branch, not so much slowing growth in general (at it will grow "out")  as stunting upward growth.  

General pruning, again, if its a maple, unless you have a lot of crossing branches etc, I would let go for a few years. One methodology is trim like rosebush - remove crossing branches, weak branches, etc.  You also want to remove the smaller, weak branches off the main laterals to open up the canopy and allow air in - visually the leaves should form an outer "shell"  and not so much close into the trunk.  Generally speaking you should be able to stand away from the tree and catch a view of trunk/interior structure of the tree from the base all the way up to the top. If you can't see the trunk at all once you get to the canopy, you need to thin.