Too Late To Chop A Maple In Georgia?

SSIA. I've found a few large (15', 3-4" trunk) maples (not 100% on the variety, but not Japanese maples...) that are balled and burlaped for a very reasonable price in Atlanta. I'd need to cut them down just to get them in the truck... What say ye faithful?

Given the spring we've had, I'd guess they're in full leaf. I'd tend to say not to do it -- especially since we don't know what kind of maple they are.

The nursery can't tell you?

They have some leaves, but aren't fully leaved out. The tops are kinda tied up, totally pre-landscape style. They're quite heavy too...

You could probably do some light branch pruning to move it home, but I would hesitate to do a major trunk chop or cut back to large primary branches. From your description of the landscape nursery stock, they are probably very tall and the nebari/trunk are the interesting features on the tree. If you do a major chop now while they are pushing growth the results could be disastrous. Would it be possible to purchase it, heel it in or pot it into a large nursery container and live with it until late winter? You may also want to positively identify the species to see if it is even worth the effort. Some species of maples will respond/heal major cuts better than others to give the look you are going for.

Good luck!

Best,
Kirk

I think it would be okay to chop them. Virtually all deciduous trees can be defoliated and will produce another set of leaves in one growing season - this is part of how deciduous rammification and leaf size reduction is achieved. Defoliation is also used for "emergency" relocation/root-work of deciduous trees - the leaves are the main route of moisture loss.

IMHO, be brave, if you're not talking big $$.

Thanks Kirk, I'm adding a pic of the leaf for help in ID'ing the type.