AusBonsai

I was looking through our local DIY garden/hardware store the other day and noticed they have many small trident maples in the bonsai section. Personally, I wouldn't call them bonsai, more like twigs (about as thick as a pencil) with a dozen leaves.

I am wondering if it would be possible to fuse some of them together? If so, how would I go about doing it?

Cheers - Craig.

Craig,
There are a number of ways to fuse tridents together. There use to be a site where sombody made a cone shape and then placed all the seedlings around it. I think his name is Doug. A few years back there was quite a lot of info going around, so if you do a search you should find lot of info.
I did't try any of them so I can't rember exact details.
Lynette

Hi Lynette,
Is this the site you were referring to?

http://www.dugzbonsai.com/

Regards
Steve

Yes Steve that the site. I was suprised it is still arouond, as it was quite a long time ago I saw it. He has updated the site and looks like he has lots of infomation. Many people didn't like the process he does ( think it cheating too much, only a little bit is ok), but the trees he finished up with look great.
Lynette

I saw that site and was amazed by the way it was done.
The maples that I am tempted to try it with are more advanced then those on the site though.

Craig.a.c wrote:I was looking through our local DIY garden/hardware store the other day and noticed they have many small trident maples in the bonsai section. Personally, I wouldn't call them bonsai, more like twigs (about as thick as a pencil) with a dozen leaves.

I am wondering if it would be possible to fuse some of them together? If so, how would I go about doing it?

Cheers - Craig.

Hi Craig Tridents fuse very easily , you can twist , plait wrap as long as the trunks touch each other then they will basically fuse .I think i posted under "Tridents galore" a pics are available if required .Cheers Alpine

yeah it is just a matter of getting them within close proximity of touching each other then they will start fusing, i bought seeds to try exactly this with them but to no avail the seeds havent germinated. so i bought ficus seeds thinking there is no way these wont germinate....think again...

let us know how you go anyways

jamie

How long does it take for small trees/cuttings to start fusing together?
Should I keep them wired/wrapped together for 6 months, 12 months or more?

I would use grafting tape
you can leave it on for as long as you like
its cheap and easy

gollum wrote:I would use grafting tape
you can leave it on for as long as you like
its cheap and easy

Cheers, thanks Gollum. Any idea as to how long it takes for them to start fusing?

6 to 12 months
but it can take 18 months for full fusing along the trunk
plating and threading is much quicker

gollum wrote:6 to 12 months
but it can take 18 months for full fusing along the trunk
plating and threading is much quicker

Plating and threading?? I am not familar with those terms, only just got into this hobby a few months ago.

Do ordinary maples (palmatum) fuse in the same way?
Has anyone tried to fuse Eucs/Gums?

Any relatively fast growing tree will work pretty much
the hard bit is making the result look convincing.
Craig Plaiting ts just like they do with long hair.

Grab 3 trees and twist and Plait them together so the trunks are intertwined tightly
Put them in a grow pot, Box ground for a few years and they will all bind together, The same will happen wil almost any trees

I planted up about 15 Casuarina seedlings into 1 pot yesterday, and when they all get much taller i will twist them all together to fuse

Ken