Partial defoliation Trident

[seephil]

Firstly, I want to start off and say this might not be a successful story...

I had this recently acquired Trident that was terribly root bound. I slip potted it into a polystyrene box about 3 weeks ago, kept it in the shade and it still powered on. I decided after reading a few posts on Ausbonsai and online to give my trident a little partial defoliation.
One awesome article I found was https://peterteabonsai.wordpress.com/20 ... aple-work/

This would be my first attempt at trying defoliation.

Here are the before pics

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And after

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Not sure if you can see, but I only defoliated the tips on some on the branches.

Things continued to go well, news shoots started to grow. However this morning I noticed some of the branches that I previously defoliated have dropped off.

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I saw on another post, that there are plenty of leaf hoppers up and about. Frisky little buggers, you see them flying off when you tap the branches and when you water them. Could they have done this?

[Pearcy001]

Nothing to worry about Seephil from what I can see. If you are referring to what is laying on the floor they are not branches, they are petioles.

Petioles are the part attaching the leaf to the branch. After defoliation as the new axillary bud extends, the old petiole that you cut will drop off and the new foliage will begin to extend.

This picture may help to explain it.

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[seephil]

Nothing to worry about Seephil from what I can see. If you are referring to what is laying on the floor they are not branches, they are petioles.

Petioles are the part attaching the leaf to the branch. After defoliation as the new axillary bud extends, the old petiole that you cut will drop off and the new foliage will begin to extend.

This picture may help to explain it.

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

Thanks for the info Percy!

[seephil]

Can it be defoliated again before Autumn? How often should I do it given the vigorous growth?

The only other trident I have is is still a seedling.

[Daluke]

hey mate. Nice tree.

Why do you want to defoliate?

Get rid of the moss at the base. Besides looking cool, it’s gonna for the trunk

[seephil]

hey mate. Nice tree.

Why do you want to defoliate?

Get rid of the moss at the base. Besides looking cool, it’s gonna for the trunk

Thanks Daluke. I got it because of the trunk too, so I guess my 'eye' is getting better at tree/stock selection.

I wanted to firstly "try" what defoliation does, hence just the partial job. Secondly I wanted to try and build some ramification. There are many shoots coming out, so I'll try to thicken the trunk up too.

Why do you suggest to remove the moss? Will this hinder its growth?

I am planning of keeping it in that styro box for at least another two years. Current soil mix 50% bonsai soil(purchased from Bonsai Art) + 50% scoria(of various sizes; bottom layer 10mm then majority 6-7 mm).

[Daluke]

Bad typo - sorry mate.

Leaving moss on the trunk will rot the trunk and cause inverse taper. The moss traps the water between the moss and bark and rots it -

If you want to improve ramification remove the fertiliser. You want finer twiggier growth rather than coarse long growth so stop feeding. If you keep feeding you’ll get long leggier growth with big gaps between leaves.

So in short, remove the moss where it’s in contact with the trunk.

To improve ramification, stop feeding.

Personally if I got the tree recently I’d not worry about ramifying and just ensure it survives changes in micro climates in between the nursery and coming to your house.

The tree should thrive in such an open mix.

I hope this helps and hopefully you post pics as it develops

[shibui]

Just an alternative point of view to confuse. I have never seen bark rot in trident maple and I get lots of moss growing here. If it was Corky bark Chinese Elm I would agree but thin bark species no problem.
ramification is the result of growing and pruning so feeding accelerates ramification. I accept that feeding will promote longer internodes in spring but better pruning can counteract that. Defoilation will hep with shorter internodes on the regrowth after provided you have also pruned properly.
[quote][/Can it be defoliated again before Autumn? How often should I do it given the vigorous growth?quote] As others have said, you should not defoliate if your aim is maximum growth but maximum growth is not the ultimate aim of bonsai. Good taper and good ramification with short internodes is also desirable. We need to balance maximum growth with good structure which will take a little more time.

[seephil]

Thanks Daluke and Shibui.

First thing I'll do is just get rid of the moss and keep it that way.

I'll see how much more it develops this growth season and re asses. I can't wait till the leaves drop off and to have a better look at the branching.

Fertilising vs ramification?

Its adapted well so far in my garden, was in full sun before I repotted it bout two weeks ago. Its been in a 1/2 shaded position ever since. Waiting for Melbourne's little heatwave to pass before it goes back into full sun.

[seephil]

So I went ahead and removed the moss from the trunk as suggested earlier this morning before work.

I used the back of a metal spoon to scoop out the moss and a toothbrush to brush off any remnants.

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After removing the first clump

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How do I know if the trunk is starting to rot? I think it was great I dear to remove the moss as now I can have a better look at the nebari. Its not perfect but something I can work on hopefully in the future.

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Any comments would be appreciated.

[shibui]

Rotting bark is soft and spongy and will peel off easily. I can't see anything to be worried about. Even if it a bit damaged just let the tree grow and it will heal over.