AusBonsai

It's on again this year.
Trident maple and Japanese maple seedlings sent bare root only until the leaves start to come out again.

I've lifted prices from last couple of years as it wasn't worth collecting small tridents for 50c each.
Note that these are all feral seedlings so no root work has been done and usually no pruning. Some seedlings have good roots , others have little more than a tap root but being maples they still grow given half a chance.

Trident maple:
small (up to 3mm trunk thickness) $1 each
Medium (3-6mm trunk thickness) $2 each
Large (6-10 mm thick) $5
There's also some larger ones at $10, $15 and a few even thicker.
Long roots to suit ROR starters $5 each

Forest packs (20 tridents assorted sizes suit group planting) $30 per pack

Japanese maples are slower to grow and there's less of them in the gardens so they're a bit dearer than tridents.
small $2
medium $5 each
no larger JM.

Fresh maple seed: 10 seeds $3, 20 seeds $5 + $3 post. 50 seeds $10 and 100 seeds $20. Free post for seed orders over $10

It's often worth letting me know what you plan to do with the seedlings because I may be able to find trees that suit .

email requests to neil@shibuibonsai.com.au Tell me what you want and your location so I can calculate post prices - depends on size, weight and destination.

Further to legoman_iac's post on last years Shibui sale, I thought I'd drop my starting posts here for on the various projects underway.

Firstly I have both a JM and Trident clump....
Both are my first attempts at the style. For the moment I've attached a zip tie to the trident clump to keep it together until it fusses but think I'm going to need something not as strong? ie it needs to be tight but not that tight? The zip tie is over grafting tape.

A separate larger trident...

We'll see what we can make of it.
I've put a tourniquet on it. In taking the picture, I realise I need to put some more soil above the tourniquet.

And a forest planting...

Small Japanese maples are getting hard to find now but I still have some medium size JM for those who want them.

Still plenty of Tridents, especially smaller size. You can choose individual priced larger tridents if you wish. Just ask to see the range.

Cannot seem to "like" all these posts ... such a great resource for anyone wanting to experiment, or start at any stage. I've tried the seedlings, the XL and XXL, all great material AND great pricing (and shipping).

Great to see your fusion trunks BonsaiBobbie! Keep us posted!

- Daniel

legoman_iac wrote: ↑August 7th, 2022, 9:09 pm

Cannot seem to "like" all these posts ... such a great resource for anyone wanting to experiment, or start at any stage. I've tried the seedlings, the XL and XXL, all great material AND great pricing (and shipping).

Great to see your fusion trunks BonsaiBobbie! Keep us posted!

- Daniel

I see what you mean. The like function has disappeared.

Will let you know how things go.

Spring has definitely sprung here and my tridents are pushing new leaves already and I am back to daily watering. Not sure I am ready for that!

Winter is here and so is the Shibui Bonsai winter seedling sale.
Same deal and same prices as last year except I haven't found any good long root tridents for ROR yet. I would suggest getting some small seedlings, trim the existing roots hard and plant them in tall pots or boxes for a year to get good roots to work with next winter.

Due to a few seedlings in a garden bed last summer I do have more XL and XXL trident seedlings this time. Very little trunk taper, a relatively large chop and roots as they come but some of you may like to take a couple on to trial different techniques.

emailneil@shibuibonsai.com.au to let me know what you would like or to discuss options. Remember the more info you give me about what you intend the better I can select trees for your needs.

Just received my shibui package!!! Bundles for trident forest plantings and some crab apples!!! Thanks Neil, as always, great products, service and pricing!

Now the rain has stopped for a few days the ground is drying out enough to resume digging. This weekend I tackled some more of the larger garden tridents. The thicker roots make digging a bit more effort and time consuming but I eventually get them up.

Roots are then reduced for easier handling, storage and packing. Note how short I've cut those roots. That's a bit frightening for newer growers but I've found that 99% of new roots grow from the cut ends of roots. If roots are cut longer all the new roots will be way out from the trunk which makes it harder to get your trees into a bonsai pot when the time comes. Cutting roots this short does not compromise the trees and I expect them all to survive and grow strongly in spring and we will have masses of new roots close to the trunk as a result.


Trunks are chopped to around 40-50 cm tall. Some may be useful in group plantings at this height but I expect many buyers will chop much lower to develop trunks with better taper in a few years.

XL sized tridents $10 - $15 each.
A few of these larger tridents have branching.$20 for XL trunks with branches and good roots like this one.
There are a few with natural low bends in the trunks. Same price as above but make sure you specify bends when you ask. I assume straight trunks unless people specifically ask for bends.
XXL trunks with better nebari attract a premium. Expect to pay $30 for a trunk with roots like this.
Some have forks in the trunks which gives a natural spot to trunk chop for additional taper and trunk bends. Great nebari and a well placed fork $30 each while they last.

These larger trunks are also heavier and take up more space in the posting boxes. Post prices are calculated on individual orders but expect to pay a little more for delivery when purchasing these larger trunks.

Do you need more roots on a trident maple?
Approach graft can add extra roots where you want them.
I've been putting aside seedlings with a bend where roots join trunks. These are just right to approach graft to the base of any trident maple. Only $1 each for seedlings with L bends + delivery cost.