Boy was this little Trident tricky to wire!

[MACH5]

Somewhere there is an episode on fall cut back as well, but I'll be darned if I can find it. Maybe it was in the Bonsai Empire course? I think that Fujikawa-san was working on a maple - I remember it being a Japanese maple and I think that Owen might have been featured. They did the fall cut back and some light wiring of the finer branches. Anyone recall which episode that was?

Scott

Scott, that was episode 25. For some reason it is gone and cannot be found from any source.

 

[MACH5]

Here is a little short video of this tree.

Joe, perhaps this was said already, but I believe there may be a better front for your tree than the one currently chosen? Top aside, the bottom is what's troublesome for me. The two roots straddle the rock almost too symmetrically and the overall stance of the tree feels a bit static. Choose your best base angle and then tackle the top accordingly.

 

[markyscott]

Scott, that was episode 25. For some reason it is gone and cannot be found from any source.

That's the one. I downloaded a copy from YouTube years ago, but I'll have to ask Bjorn's permission to repost it. Perhaps he deleted it for a reason.

Scott

 

[Smoke]

Here's a good video discussing spring maintenance on trident maples

I watched that video and seen the amount of fungus the trees had. Looks like Anthracnose to me. Photos of my computer monitor. Sorry not high quality. Little sulpher rose dust will take care of that.

 

[Smoke]

Just good to know that the problem is even in professional nurseries.

 

[markyscott]

Just good to know that the problem is even in professional nurseries.

That stuff is a plague on tridents here. Something about the combination of heat and humidity make Houston an anthracnose factory and has made me quite anal about dormant spraying. I hadn't tried the rose dust - thanks for the tip! Do you apply it when symptoms appear or as a preventative throughout the season?

S

 

[Smoke]

That stuff is a plague on tridents here. Something about the combination of heat and humidity make Houston an anthracnose factory and has made me quite anal about dormant spraying. I hadn't tried the rose dust - thanks for the tip! Do you apply it when symptoms appear or as a preventative throughout the season?

S

My wife has minature rose bushes planted all over that damn place. She is whats known as a buyer, not a planter, a waterer or taker care of it. When I powder the roses three times a year I powder all the maples and pyracantha's. The problem is getting the damn rose dust with sulpher. Seems they want to ban everything that works.

We got piles of sulpher all around here along the grape vineyards, maybe I should just sneek a bucket full? I could store it next to the water heater in the garage?

 

[markyscott]

...The problem is getting the damn rose dust with sulpher...View attachment 127953

Perhaps you're living in the wrong state - as a California transplant I can say that you may actually be a Texan at heart. I can see you packing heat on one hip and the banned rose dust on the other. Bugs and fungus wouldn't stand a chance.

Thanks for the pointers though Al. I'll definitely give that a go next year. I've noticed that when I hit it with the dormant spray the spring growth is generally free of anthracnose. But when I do a late season outer canopy defoliation, the summer shoots can be affected. I've been alternating daconil and mancozeb, but I'll work the power it to see how it does.

Scott

 

[Shima]

Boy was this little Trident tricky to wire! Why? Because for one, this is only the third tree I've ever wired and 2, my hands are bigger than the tree Still enjoyed it though! BTW, yes yes I know, my wiring still sucks
Too much like dental lab work, all that wiring. Sometimes I wanted to throw it across the room.

Boy was this little Trident tricky to wire! Why? Because for one, this is only the third tree I've ever wired and 2, my hands are bigger than the tree Still enjoyed it though! BTW, yes yes I know, my wiring still sucks

 

[Smoke]

Perhaps you're living in the wrong state - as a California transplant I can say that you may actually be a Texan at heart. I can see you packing heat on one hip and the banned rose dust on the other. Bugs and fungus wouldn't stand a chance.

Thanks for the pointers though Al. I'll definitely give that a go next year. I've noticed that when I hit it with the dormant spray the spring growth is generally free of anthracnose. But when I do a late season outer canopy defoliation, the summer shoots can be affected. I've been alternating daconil and mancozeb, but I'll work the power it to see how it does.

Scott

Yea...they say stuff is bigger in Texas but in summer we got spider mites so damn big I saw one last summer standin flat footed screwin a chicken!

 

[Paradox]

Yea...they say stuff is bigger in Texas but in summer we got spider mites so damn big I saw one last summer standin flat footed screwin a chicken!

yeah I had spider mites on almost all my junipers this year. I heard they were bad everywhere.

 

[markyscott]

Yea...they say stuff is bigger in Texas but in summer we got spider mites so damn big I saw one last summer standin flat footed screwin a chicken!

You'll need more than a six-shooter

Scott

 

[JudyB]

Yea...they say stuff is bigger in Texas but in summer we got spider mites so damn big I saw one last summer standin flat footed screwin a chicken!

I want to see that love child...

 

[ajm55555]

yeah I had spider mites on almost all my junipers this year

What do you do to get rid of them, Sandy?

 

[Gary McCarthy]

That's it, but I'll take the comment a bit further, if I may. I think that often people see folks bending big branches on conifers and think that's how it's done on deciduous trees. Heck, I've bent branches as large as my arm on pine trees myself. But deciduous trees are different - branches are grown into place, not bent into place. So the fall cut back is extremely important on deciduous trees. It's a big component of how branch structure is developed on deciduous trees. So cut the heavy branches back to the fine growth and then just wire the stuff thinner than a matchstick, if it needs to be repositioned. Forget about the wire on the thick branches - you're not bending them without breaking them anyway. They don't call them hardwoods for nothing. At the same time, do all the maintenance pruning:

• Prune growth coming out of the bottom of the branches
• Prune growth directed toward the interior of the tree
• Thin branches junctions with multiple shoots and buds down to two branches, preferably horizontal ones.
• For every 2-3 horizontal branches, keep an upward facing shoot
• For each branch, think about the structure - for apically dominant trees, there should be a leader and secondary branches that emerge in an alternating pattern. So leave your leader a little long and prune the side branches back a little harder

Lot's of people wire deciduous trees during dormancy. I tend not to, but if you do, watch out for the wire cutting in. The branches won't set until the tree starts to grow. It grows fast in early spring so that wire might need to come off 2-4 weeks into the growing season. Keep a very close eye on it.

The other thing to watch in early spring is that the foliage can become quite dense, especially if you're pinching the spring shoots (it looks like this tree is pinched). So you'll need to thin the outer canopy - perhaps you'll need to do a partial outer canopy defoliation. The goal is to allow light and air into the interior of the tree. To see how to do this, I'd recommend you sign up for Bjorn's online intermediate course on Bonsai Empire. It goes into all of this in quite a lot of detail.

Most of all have fun. This is a nice tree and tridents will keep you busy. I like that you got in there and wired it - the practice will pay off down the line. Consider taking Colin's wiring class on Craftsy - it's free and an excellent instructional video. Pay particular attention to the parts about anchoring and how to wire two branches with a single piece of wire. And also the parts about the relative stength of two smaller pieces of wire as compared to a single large piece. Actually, it's all good. When you're done, critically evaluate your own wiring and learn from the differences.

Scott

Well that was a lot of GREAT information for a new person like me.

Thanks Scott!!!

 

[Paradox]

What do you do to get rid of them, Sandy?

Since they are bad news and tree killers, I dont mess around with spider mites. I go for the big guns. I use a thorough dousing of Sevin spray.
They are gone in 24 hours or less.

 

[Tentakelaertje]

@abqjoe how's this tree doing? Did you succeed in moving the branches?

 

[thumblessprimate1]

I believe this tree is now in the hands of another. @aml1014

 

[aml1014]

@abqjoe how's this tree doing? Did you succeed in moving the branches?

I believe this tree is now in the hands of another. @aml1014

Yes it's mine now. I removed the wire and the branches did hold. There are 2 branches that I think if removed, would improve this tree greatly. I will wait until next spring at least to decide though.

Aaron

 

[Tentakelaertje]

Nice Aaron! Got pics?