This is 1 of the J.Maples that were removed from my garden in Winter 2008 and potted up .They were naked chop top trunks with no branches .Original posted in Dec 2008 showing the start of the progression .Today i defoliated and removed unwanted branchlets and reduced the apex by 100mm .This trainer has been defoliated on average 4-5 times since ’08 .Whilst most people believe you can only defol’ once or twice at the maximum ,this is not correct .I have pushed Japanese Maples regularly 4-5 times per season , the timing is essentual . Six defol’s will definately kill the tree on most occasions . With so much energy going into the ramification the Chop scar will heal very slowly.I don’t used cut pastes on any trees however i did seal with Steri-prune ,  a bitumen based wound sealer .Cheers Alpineart