How does a black maple hold up in a storm?
Considerably stronger-wooded than silver or red maple and it generally carries ice well. Failures concentrate at tight V-shaped codominant unions with included bark — look for a seam or a bark ridge being pushed outward at a fork, because that is the union that comes apart under load.
What pruning can and can't prevent
Prune in late dormancy or mid-summer and avoid late winter into early spring, when maples bleed sap heavily from fresh cuts. The bleeding is cosmetic and does no structural harm, but homeowners find it alarming enough to call back, so the trap here is scheduling rather than technique.
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