Any tips for pruning/controlling a small Acer tree?

[Scam]

We planted a small red Acer in our garden in July '24. It's now up to about 12-13ft so it's time to control it a little. It's a very small courtyard garden about 5m by 5m so we don't want it overshadowing, particularly as the garden is south facing.

Winter is the time of year to prune them whilst they're dormant, but does anyone have any experience with this?

We want to trim some of the branches coming out of the sides which seems straight forward (aiming for a lollipop shape), but we were wondering if we can trim the main trunk/branch to stop it getting too tall. Or if that might encourage growth It was about 9-10ft when we got it and now it's more like 12-13ft. It's in a large bed so maybe it won't get absolutely massive?

 

[dave28]

I dont have an Acer but if you stop it from going up it will almost certainly try to bush out more, looking online it can be done if needed though.

Your meant to cut just above a bud and get rid of any dead, damaged or diseased branches.

 

[Pipe & Slippers]

They grow like the clappers and the only way to stop them is to trim them each year…however, I found this just seems to encourage more growth. It’s a bit like tribbles!
Consider doing a big trim now to get it to a manageable height for future years
My folks had 2 and over 35 or so years, I did at least 6 massive height reduction exercises because they wouldn’t put the effort in to a yearly trim. In between times, the electricity board came out at least 3 times because one of the trees was interfering with overhead lines

 

[tonys]

We planted a small red Acer in our garden in July '24. It's now up to about 12-13ft so it's time to control it a little. It's a very small courtyard garden about 5m by 5m so we don't want it overshadowing, particularly as the garden is south facing.

Winter is the time of year to prune them whilst they're dormant, but does anyone have any experience with this?

We want to trim some of the branches coming out of the sides which seems straight forward (aiming for a lollipop shape), but we were wondering if we can trim the main trunk/branch to stop it getting too tall. Or if that might encourage growth It was about 9-10ft when we got it and now it's more like 12-13ft. It's in a large bed so maybe it won't get absolutely massive?

Do you know the name of the tree? It will also depend on the species or variety on how big it eventually gets. Containing the roots can also restrict growth like you would a bonsai.