Trident Maple Trunk Chop - 3 years On

[Ryan1979b]

Hey all, I haven't posted to many of my tree on the forum, al lot of them need a lot more time & work before I think I would like to show them, but I will be posting a couple more soon.

Anyway here is a small series of photo's showing the progression of a trident maple I bought about 2.5 years ago. It cost me about $35 was in a large 450mm pot and stood about 6 feet tall sorry 1800mm tall...hehe I was nervous at a the time but I think things are coming along nicely. I have let it go slightly rampant this some with but still styling it along the way.my aim to get a nice full foliage tree with a few glimpses of the trunk between pads. I can wait for next spring to start pruning and wiring the pad branches into more desired positions.

The soil has moved away from the base of the tree exposing the roots, I think when i re-pot it next spring I will bring the soil level up about 20-30mm to cover the leggy roots. Hopefully this appear to creating a better base flare.

Here they are enjoy.

Sorry about the poor photo's, at the time I had know idea this site existed and never through I would be showing them to fellow bonsai enthusiast...hehehe

Trident 2007 Spring.jpg

Trident 2008 Spring.jpg

Trident 2009 Spring.jpg

Trident 2010 Feb1.jpg

Trident 2010 Feb2.jpg

Regards

Ryan

[Jamie]

looking good ryan, i think you have worked everything right so far, i would be looking at maybe bumping up its feed a little to get the real strong growth you are after in the growth stage and also as you have said some nebari work will not go astray. that is what makes tridents or breaks them i beleive, if you can get a really goood nebari you have half the battle one. use every technique you know of to do this

keep us posted mate, its coming along nicely

jamie

[craigw60]

Hi Ryan,
Your tree has come a long way in 3 years you have obviously been putting a lot of time into it. Jamie is spot on you need to sort those roots out and get a nice smooth flow from the trunk into the surface roots. If you are a bit nervous about root work you can pace it out over a couple of seasons, but TM can take some pretty heavy root work and pull through just fine.
Craig

[Ryan1979b]

Thanks all, does anybody have any good techniques to help spread out the nebari. The roots are pretty set & strong at the moment?

Regards

Ryan

[craigw60]

is there any root system underneath them that could be worked with ?

[Bretts]

I would go for a ground layer as Jamie suggests.
The washer technique will take a couple of years but is as simple as slipping a washer of appropriate size over the trunk. Cut of those highest roots and nessel the washer about there, then bury this washer deep in soil. As the trunk swells the washer will force new roots above the washer and the bottom can be removed. If you don't want to wait that long I would Ground layer early next Summer.

[Ryan1979b]

I haven't checked under the soil since last years so I might have to wait till next year when I re-pot it & disturb the roots only once.

I haven't ground layered before, is this basically the same technique as air layering but on the roots?

Cheers

Ryan

[Mojo Moyogi]

I like the progress Ryan. But I agree that this little tree deserves a good set of pins.

You could try a ground layer using a cylinder made of plastic mesh screen as a container combined with sphagnum moss as a layering medium, this has worked well on Tridents for me in the past, in Newcastle you should be able to start in Sept/Oct and detach in March.



Cheers
Mojo Moyogi

[Jamie]

gday ryan

i personally find ground layers easier as you dont have to try and hang something of the tree, it is exactly the same process as air layer with ring barking the tree, rooting hormones and then using a medium to cover it. all i do is cut the top of a nursery container so the bottom is gone, cut up one side so that it can be opened and placed around the tree, push it in the soil a little bit so it holds in place than back fill simple


jamie

[craigw60]

I would wait until the winter and wash all the potting mix off the roots and just see exactly whats under there then make a decision what to do . Sometimes you will find a very workable root system below ground level.
Craig

[Jamie]

definately true mate, there could be a very nice nebari with a bit more flare under the soil and the other roots could be simply cut off!

it is always a good idea to check all possibilities before making decisions

[Bretts]

Looking at the trunk Craig it seems to thin out below the aerial roots. Chances are what is under the soil will not be worth saving as it will take just as long if not longer to grow out the reverse taper as it will to grow a perfect new set of roots.
This is more evident in the second last pic than the last pic.
I have been wrong before though

[craigw60]

You may well be correct Brett but no harm in checking out all possibilities the tree can easily be layered in the winter. Always pay to check the root base before buying a tree.
Craig

[jeremy_norbury]

What happened to this one?

[gr8bookworm]

Looking good Ryan, gives my a bit of an insight into the Maple I have just posted on yesterday and I will be hoping to get similar results.