First Fusion Attempt

[legoman_iac]

Just received my order of trident maple seedlings today, many thanks to @shibui !!!

I ordered 70 thinking that was heaps, then did some more reading while they were in transit to realise you need 100+ ... which I learnt today is about right.

Regardless, have fashioned together what I could, assume a few gaps is better than over crowding, will take longer to fill and I'm ok with that assuming it all survives.

2022_jul_20_fusion.png

First time using "grafting tape" ... it's fairly strong, not sure if it'll break down or not. Was going to also bind using twine, but thought best to leave it for now. Not going for anything too fancy in style, if it works and I have some taper, that's a success in my books.

If anyone thinks I should:

- bind more with the grafting tape?
- bind more with twine?
- do something different?

Would be open to suggestions, else will update here as it goes along.

- Daniel

[Promethius]

Full disclosure - I’ve never done this.

I just wonder whether some tighter binding in the area I’ve indicated might improve fusion. I suspect you need to leave the apex free to grow leaves and prevent die-back. If you have access to somewhere to grow this in the ground, it might go faster than in a pot.

Have a look at the ‘Tridents galore’ thread (alpineart) if you haven’t yet. There were some nice fusions done with far fewer seedlings than yours (a good sign for you, I think). They look to have been bound much more tightly towards the base.

Keep us updated regardless!

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[legoman_iac]

Ahhh good point, think you're right, I'll bind a bit more in the middle.

And yes, that mega epic thread is where I got the inspiration a few years back, it's just taken me a while to get organised to have a go.

I've just gone through that thread again, such a mammoth project(s). Lots of great trees and experience there I'll try to draw on. Might even try cable ties to bind the centre, looks like Ian did that too on some. Need to watch out for pests too.

Also, could move this into the ground next year, keen to ensure its in a good spot first. Finding some trees do better one side of my driveway, others do better in the other side.

Thanks,
Daniel

[legoman_iac]

Added a few cable ties ... though noticed they did cut into the seedlings a little, should have applied the grafting tape first. Know for next time.

Will leave it for now ... see what happens.

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[Grant Bowie]

New Clear Fusion , that’s outstanding. More power to you.

Grant

[legoman_iac]

Seems I haven't killed it ... yet! We have power (leaves) in the core!!!

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[Ryceman3]

Long road ahead for your fusion but I think you are off to a pretty decent start, good luck with it!
Love a project.

[legoman_iac]

My rules for bonsai:
===================

- Step 1: keep it alive
- Step 3: profit

[legoman_iac]

Quick update ... spring has sprung!

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Wondering if I should wire any branches away, out to the side so more light can get into the inner parts, to encourage more leaves, or leaf out alone?

[BonsaiBobbie]

Oh wow. Prolific growth, I am getting mixed bags on my tridents still.

Some I have started to clip the growth in order to keep it growing where I want it (especially on the forests). Others have only just started to push out leaves.

My vote would be for opening up the growth so everything is getting light.

[Stevie_B]

I recently tried with some figs, and found it to be more difficult than I thought.

My observations were as follows:
I had a tree die in amongst it and I couldn't get it out so it stayed there in the middle, decaying and stopped the other trees from properly touching.
I didn't properly clean the plants at the bottom so there was soil built up that also likely hindered the process. Ants had also made a home and brought dirt up through the centre, which i didn't realise until later.
The zip ties cut significantly into the soft wood and it looked pretty bad, so grafting tape is def the go.

In the end, i gave up, and now have the workings of a nice forest of figs.

That being said, i only used about 10 plants, not 100! I didn't realise that is how many you would need.

Thanks,
Steve

[KIRKY]

The major problem with your fusion as I see it will be to watch where it is bound versus where it’s not bound. You don’t want bulging as you will never be able to get rid of it. You may need to mix it up a bit puting binding where there isn’t any and release the current binding as the fusion grows.
Cheers
Kirky

[legoman_iac]

Thanks for the extra points ... the zip ties will be my greatest friend and foe, if I'm not careful. Already cut into the bark a bit when first seeing up.

Good point to adjust as it grows to ensure even fusion, I hadn't consider bulges, will be sure to check every few weeks.

Do the ants cause any damage, or more that they prevent fusion with the soil structures?

[Promethius]

I don’t worry about ants directly, but they can farm aphids, scale and other sap suckers.

[Stevie_B]

Yeah that’s right, I had lots of ants and lots of aphids.
my other problem was that they tracked dirt up the trunks which likely stopped any fusion.