Trident maple

[pureheart]

Ben great work your little saw looks amazing! could you tell me where did you buy it and what brand it is? Thanks!

[ben17487]

Hey pureheart, it's a silky pocketboy. I saw someone sprooking them on here a while ago and thought it was a must have item. It is very handy and cuts through everything I've tried with ease!

https://www.forestrytools.com.au/index.php?id=442

[Jdceng]

Hi There

Regarding the Pocket Boy Silky Saw.

Either the 130mm long blade or the 170mm long blade.

Just make sure that you buy the one with the medium teeth.

Available here http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_nkw= ... noapp=true

[ben17487]

Had a bit of a poke around the base of this one this arvo, seems to be callusing well.
I'm hoping the next stage of root production isn't too far away.
Is anyone able to explain what happens with the tree biologically in this process?
It's my understanding that as the leaves photosynthesize they produce sugars that then help to grow new roots, is this correct?
Would this then mean the more leaves the better or is it possible they will stress the tree in having to support a large number of leaves?
Gonna be a wicked base if all goes to plan though!

[ben17487]

And we have roots!!



If anyone's interested in the after care I've kept it out of direct sunlight and placed it on top of my hot water service to act as a heating bed, seems like it's working...

Here's the tree in leaf:



Now I can rest easy

[ben17487]

The stump of this tree is starting to callous, there's no way it will pop buds like a Chinese elm would is there?

I'm thinking I'll get some seedlings this weekend and see if an approach graft will take so I can get some trees out of these roots...

[shibui]

There is always a chance Ben.
I have only tried this once with trident roots. They callused and stayed alive (healthy bark and green cambium) for more than a year but did not produce any shoots at all. I have never seen a trident produce buds from the cambium like an elm but your roots were exposed to the air for some time before so maybe there will be some dormant buds that might grow?

[ben17487]

Thanks shibui, I guess I have enough stumps there to try both methods

[ben17487]

I've attached a whip to (I think) the most interesting root, will update if it all works out!





Cheers
Ben

[ben17487]

Trimmed back the strong growth today and rewired some branches. Might take me a few seasons before I'm sure where I'm going with the branches

Before



After

[pebble]

great tread, really enjoyed reading reading everyone's advice.
Ben how is it coming along looking ok after the big prune?

I did a big prune on mine about the same time, and it didn't seam to recover well after the prune.
I'm thinking curl grubs may have got to mine.
contemplating pulling mine out of the pot to see whats up.

[ben17487]

Hi Pebble, sorry to hear about your tree, hope it pulls through..

Mine carried on fine after the prune, got some decent growth out of it considering the pot size.



The approach graft is still going well, though I am hesitant to see if it's fully taken yet, will leave it until I go to separate the root from the others..

Cheers!

[ben17487]

Time for an update on the roots of this maple!
Had a little bit of free time tonight so I bit the bullet and repotted it. Was very happy to find an abundance of roots!

Not sure that I trimmed them back enough or not, would be keen to get some feedback..

[pureheart]

To me it looks like a very good job!


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[shibui]

I would normally cut trident roots back far more than that to promote more root ramification but you already have a pretty full nebari there with plenty of ramification so what you have done will be fine. The tree should power on really well now. Getting rid of the down growing ones is essential so it can go in a shallow pot sometime in the future.