A Trident Progression (eventually)

[cbroad]

I'm trying really hard this year to post more of my trees and the other random projects I carry out.

Not much to see with this trident at the moment but I'll be chopping it back soon, hopefully there will be more to update later on.





It was one of those starters you buy at nurseries in a 1 gallon, just a stick in a pot. I think I bought it around 2016 but not positive...

It escaped its pot at some point when I healed it in for winter a few years ago and got pretty tall. It was over 20 feet this winter when I chopped it; that's very early for me but I had a roof issue this winter and had to chop it because the pot is sitting like 3 feet off the foundation of the house.

Still needs another chop much lower down, it's around 7 feet tall right now. I guess I'll see how low I can get this thing to bud.

If this thing is redeemable, there will be a ground layer in its future. I'm sure the roots are pretty wrecked at this point...

 

[cbroad]

I guess it's not much of a progression thread without showing at least some sort of progression... I had a hard time finding any pictures of it on my computer, found one in my album here on Bnut

Bought in April 2016 as 12" starter, here it is in August of that year:

 

[MrWunderful]

The base flare is great.

Needs taper though, how low are you going to cut?

 

[cbroad]

how low are you going to cut?

Not sure yet, probably no higher than that left branch in my first pic, the one that arches downward, around midway up on the board. I don't want to be stuck with an awkward looking informal upright, so hopefully lower than that branch.

Maybe I'll cut to that first eye poker branch in the second pic, not really sure if I should initially though. I lost a similar sized trident years ago for chopping way too low, probably below any viable buds, but that one wasn't this healthy though.