Trident Twists

Forum for discussion of Deciduous bonsai – Maples, Crabapple, Hornbeam, Elm species etc.
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Ryceman3
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Trident Twists

Post by Ryceman3 »

Back again with my trifecta of trident projects for the week wrapped up. As well as using some of the trident seedlings I got from shibui for root grafting, I put the rest I had to work after being inspired by Steven and a few other forum members from a year or two ago. So, with wire in hand and a bit of time this morning, I got to work.

Take a seedling ...
IMG_2654.JPG
Wrap a bit of wire around it ...
IMG_2655.JPG
Give it a few bends, pretty much however you like, and repeat with as many seedlings as you have!
IMG_2658.JPG
Then pot them up and wait to see what happens ...
IMG_2660.JPG
Unfortuantely I didn't have enough pots on hand to individually pot them up, so they are all in trios at the moment. This is a bit of fun and I'm looking forward to seeing how they turn out particularly over the next year or so. I plan on continuing to tweak the bends to hopefully get some curves and twists a bit tighter but I didn't want to push too far and snap them ... well, not all of them ... I might have pushed a few a bit far :whistle: .

A bump to Steven and anybody else who might've done this in the last few years - I'd love to see some pics on where your trees are currently at if you have a chance!

:beer:
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Re: Trident Twists

Post by melbrackstone »

Good going. I tried it, and forgot about the wire, so the majority of mine were badly marked.

I'll see if I can take some pics of the ones that I left...some have been chopped back severely... :whistle: :whistle:
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Re: Trident Twists

Post by Granite »

Here’s the beginning of year 2 on some of my Shibui tridents. I’m trying to impart some taper on them to give them some natural movement as they progress.
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Last edited by Granite on June 24th, 2018, 7:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Trident Twists

Post by Boics »

Good stuff!

Granite, your 2nd one looks like Japanese maple to me.

Perhaps try and group a couple so they mould into each other?
I know this works reasonably well with tridents.
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Re: Trident Twists

Post by Granite »

I have ordered 40 more from Shibui and might actually give that a try with a few, Boics. Thanks for the suggestion.
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Re: Trident Twists

Post by melbrackstone »

Impressive results there Granite. Agree that the second one looks more like a Japanese Maple.
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Re: Trident Twists

Post by Ryceman3 »

Awesome, thanks for the post Granite! I agree with the others about the second one looking a lot like a japanese maple but I don't see why not give it a go with them too. I really like the third one, but all have potential - early days!

I appreciate the heads up on the wire cutting in Mel, always something to watch with species that gain trunk/branch girth as rapidly as tridents do. Once spring hits and the growing season takes off, I'll be watching with both eyes ... kinda like this ... :o , which will probably become this after a while ... :shock: ??... ;)


Your point is a good one Boics, I hadn't considered it and so when I planted them together I tried to have them in positions where they could grow away from one another, but maybe I should embrace and have them sympathetically twisting around one another? Something to consider!

Thanks all for your input.
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Re: Trident Twists

Post by BB Brian »

awesome, can't wait till mine arrive :cool:
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Re: Trident Twists

Post by melbrackstone »

DSC_1918.JPG
DSC_1917.JPG
DSC_1916.JPG
These are all from 2016, coiled and planted...mostly all marked by wire. Some of the marks are much less obvious than they were though! The ones in the 4" pots haven't grown as thick as those in the 6" pots, and one I planted so it's in a basket sitting on the ground has thickened even more, so if you want them to grow fast, you really do need to give them room...
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Re: Trident Twists

Post by shibui »

The good thing about wire marks on tridents at this early stage is that they ill almost always disappear as the trunk thickens.
Your observation about the ones with more root run growing more is spot on. Letting some roots escape through a drain hole into the ground makes a huge difference in growth compared to roots confined in the pot.
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Re: Trident Twists

Post by melbrackstone »

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Re: Trident Twists

Post by Ryceman3 »

It appears that spring may be arriving ....
trident buds.jpg
I notice that all the tridents I got from shibui THIS year are moving first ... others that I have from him in other years (and also from other places) are still yet to show signs of growth... environmental :?: I'm guessing they think it has warmed up enough. Maybe compared to Yackendandah, Melbourne is just plain balmy!
I also have chinese elms starting to pop. Not long until we're amongst it again.
:yes:
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Re: Trident Twists

Post by Keels »

Awesom post :D ive just ordered some seedlings as well last week to try this development. Looking forward to see your progress
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Re: Trident Twists

Post by Ryceman3 »

Keels wrote:Awesom post :D ive just ordered some seedlings as well last week to try this development. Looking forward to see your progress
Nice. Post em up when you’re done, would love to see them! :cool:
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Re: Trident Twists

Post by Matthew »

Ryceman3 wrote:It appears that spring may be arriving ....
trident buds.jpg
I notice that all the tridents I got from shibui THIS year are moving first ... others that I have from him in other years (and also from other places) are still yet to show signs of growth... environmental :?: I'm guessing they think it has warmed up enough. Maybe compared to Yackendandah, Melbourne is just plain balmy!
I also have chinese elms starting to pop. Not long until we're amongst it again.
:yes:
Not at my place . Been good rain here last 4 nights in a row and most of next week will not get above 12 tops
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