I think malus will grow too tall. You can make many plants into sizes and shapes not intended by nature but it's rather like foot binding. You end up with something crippled and distorted. Acers are beautiful but it's true that a windy site may not suit them. I tried and the leaves just shrivelled up each time the sea breezes blew in. There are so many shrubs that do stay small or respond well to pruning and also provide benefits for wildlife that you might be best to do some research into these.
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There are dwarf acers that only reach 3-8' max, depending on the variety. Just Google Dwarf Japanese Maples for lots of info. I love the dwarf lace-leaf variety. There are tons of photos to get an idea of size, color and leaf shapes out there: https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=dwarf+japanese+maples&fr=yhs-mozilla-001&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-001&imgurl=http://twng32.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/japanese-dwarf-maple.jpg?w=1128#id=1&iurl=http://twng32.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/japanese-dwarf-maple.jpg?w=1128&action=click
Last edited: 22 March 2017 22:41:15
I think malus will grow too tall. You can make many plants into sizes and shapes not intended by nature but it's rather like foot binding. You end up with something crippled and distorted. Acers are beautiful but it's true that a windy site may not suit them. I tried and the leaves just shrivelled up each time the sea breezes blew in. There are so many shrubs that do stay small or respond well to pruning and also provide benefits for wildlife that you might be best to do some research into these.