Field-grown trident

markyscott

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Do trident maple leaves turn any fall color for you in Houston? and do they ever fall?

My tridents still pretty much green and although the tree appears to have stopped growing I don't know what to expect. Last year, they didn't shed any leaves but it was the first year and I assumed they were acclimating (they came from a region where winters are a bit colder).

Generally no. We’ve had some cold weather this fall though. If the one was getting more sun, I think i would have had some fall color.

S
 
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Generally no. We’ve had some cold weather this fall though. If the one was getting more sun, I think i would have had some fall color.

ok. so you always defoliate your tridents this time of the year? Do you think there would be a negative effect if you left the leaves untouched and the tree never shed its leaves?
 

markyscott

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ok. so you always defoliate your tridents this time of the year? Do you think there would be a negative effect if you left the leaves untouched and the tree never shed its leaves?

Hi Gustavo. Yes. When we get what passes for fall colors here - generally we’ll get some yellowing on some of the trident leaves while others will stay green, bald cypress leaves will turn bronze, Japanese maples will look generally exhausted and turn a bit red - I defoliate. If the colors are good, you can enjoy them awhile and then remove the leaves. I do so because I like to see the tree when I do my structural pruning. Also, trees don’t bleed, if that’s important to you, when you prune in the late fall or early winter. If you miss the late fall/early winter cut back, you can do it when you repot.

- Scott
 

markyscott

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It amazes me how much you cut back every fall.

Build branches from the inside out. Detailed ramification at the tips is the last thing to worry about. First build girth, movement and taper. Then primary branch structure. It’s the same as growing the trunk - let it extend to build girth, then cutback to build movement and taper. Repeat for the primary and secondary branches. And then pinch for detailed tertiary ramification.

S
 

Gary McCarthy

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Build branches from the inside out. Detailed ramification at the tips is the last thing to worry about. First build girth, movement and taper. Then primary branch structure. It’s the same as growing the trunk - let it extend to build girth, then cutback to build movement and taper. Repeat for the primary and secondary branches. And then pinch for detailed tertiary ramification.

S
Can I be the first to sign up for your fall trident maple pruning workshop :)
 

D1raq

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Great thread with an amazing amount of valuable insight,

First post from an aspiring enthusiast located in Oregon. I decided to grow my very own field grown trident maples (three), that I planted today in my back yard, and they are approximately 3-4 feet tall. Would you recommend anything in the first year, or simply let them grow for a few years before I cut off the tap root, root train, and trunk chop?

Sincerely,
Derek
 

markyscott

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Great thread with an amazing amount of valuable insight,

First post from an aspiring enthusiast located in Oregon. I decided to grow my very own field grown trident maples (three), that I planted today in my back yard, and they are approximately 3-4 feet tall. Would you recommend anything in the first year, or simply let them grow for a few years before I cut off the tap root, root train, and trunk chop?

Sincerely,
Derek

Hi Derek. Next year I’d chop them back, pull them out of the ground and get the roots started in the right direction. Then back in the ground!

S
 

markyscott

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Mike Hennigan

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Great thread with an amazing amount of valuable insight,

First post from an aspiring enthusiast located in Oregon. I decided to grow my very own field grown trident maples (three), that I planted today in my back yard, and they are approximately 3-4 feet tall. Would you recommend anything in the first year, or simply let them grow for a few years before I cut off the tap root, root train, and trunk chop?

Sincerely,
Derek

Nice! Follow @markyscott ‘s advice. Just wanted to add, for future reference it is ideal to prune away the tap root as soon as possible. In your case before putting them in the ground would be better, but no problem to work the roots next season. Bill Valavanis even cuts the tap root on very young (like just after the first pair of true leaves emerge) Japanese maple seedlings with a razor blade. But yea, sooner you can prune away the tap root, the sooner you will get nice radial roots growing.
 

MrWunderful

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@markyscott what are your thoughts on trunk chops mid summer? No problem on a healthy trident? just curious of your opinion.

I have a few tridents with strong leaders to cut back to that are already growing pretty vigorous (that need trunk chops). They all have very bad nebari and I wanted to do ground layers next year.

Thanks!
 

markyscott

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@markyscott what are your thoughts on trunk chops mid summer? No problem on a healthy trident? just curious of your opinion.

I have a few tridents with strong leaders to cut back to that are already growing pretty vigorous (that need trunk chops). They all have very bad nebari and I wanted to do ground layers next year.

Thanks!

If I’m building a main section of trunk, I always chop as the buds swell in spring. That’s when I see the strongest back budding and the strongest growth and elongation on the new leader. It sounds as though you’re past that window now. If it’s healthy and you chop in summer, it should be fine, but the response will be much weaker than it would have been had you performed the same chop in spring.

S
 
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