Trident Maple defoliation

[Matt S]

I defoliated this Trident Maple today, but as usual I forgot to take a before photo. At this time of year time is precious and I often duck into the shed when I have a bit of time to myself but everything seems rushed! So far this year I had just pruned the strongest shoots back to one pair and decided that the inner shoots were getting too shaded out and since the tree as in good health I'd do a defoliation.

I bought this tree in Melbourne 9 years ago because of it's nice fat trunk with good taper and since them I've been working on the primary and secondary branches, but the last two growing seasons I've started on the ramification. It's in an oversized pot and you can see the original front I chose but two years ago I decided that a different angle was more interesting, so next repot I'll spin it around. Looking at the photo I can see that the top right branch needs to be shortened, and the bottom right branch thickened.

trident old front dec20.JPG

trident new front Dec20 (2).JPG

Happy to hear if anyone agrees/disagrees with the new angle, or any other comments.

Matt.

[melbrackstone]

Your new front seems awkward with the middle part of the trunk appearing much thicker than the base... it might be the light background confusing me though......The nebari, on the other hand, looks much better on the new front...

[Pearcy001]

G'day Matt,

Great little tree, but I'm with Mel on the potential reverse taper issue, my eye is drawn straight to it.

If you were to consider tilting the tree 35° to the right I think you would not only reduce the reverse taper issue a little, but also create a even better nebari and more interesting tree.

20201222_202251.jpg

Food for thought for you, I'm very partial to a windswept and slanting style tree so not for everyone's taste. Goodluck with what ever decision you make and great tree either way.

Cheers,
Pearcy

[Pearcy001]

Another option for you which is my preferred - 20° back the other way. This option works better with the current branch structure, again improving on the nebari and improving the slight reverse taper a little. Just a couple more options for you, I think you're on the money with the new proposed front.

Cheers,
Pearcy

20201222_214018.jpg

[Matt S]

Thanks Pearcy and Mel, it's good to hear your opinions.

The reverse taper is there with the new front, but the photos seem to exaggerate it more. In the flesh I've never been bothered by it.

The second tilt to the left is interesting, I'll give it some consideration. I also need to do some better work on the nebari. I've only ever repotted it twice so I might start on a bi-annual repot schedule so I can work on the roots more often.

Matt.