Finally, a big trident project

Smoke · May 27, 2019

Awesome base there. Really good work.

Dav4 · Mar 1, 2020

So, it was 65 F today and we're expecting to have another week with at least 4-6 inches of rain... that's the definition of a good time to re-pot! The roots continue to improve, but definitely needed to be tweaked... can't do this without a board nailed to the base. Two more years and this one should be ready for a real pot.

Adair M · Mar 1, 2020

Dav4 said:
So, it was 65 F today and we're expecting to have another week with at least 4-6 inches of rain... that's the definition of a good time to re-pot! The roots continue to improve, but definitely needed to be tweaked... can't do this without a board nailed to the base. Two more years and this one should be ready for a real pot.
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Excellent!

you still planning on coming up this weekend?

Dav4 · Mar 1, 2020

Adair M said:
Excellent!

you still planning on coming up this weekend?

Yessir! Gotta get the minivan from the kid at UNG on Friday and load it up, work all day Saturday, then head north... Sunday should be great!

dirk hoorelbeke · Mar 3, 2020

Nice evolution.

Dav4 · Feb 21, 2021

Still on schedule for a real pot in 12 months. The board is just about rotted through but should do the job for one more year. Some heavy roots were cut back to improve ramification.

Dav4 · Feb 21, 2021

I added a few more root grafts today... ready for spring!

Hack Yeah! · Feb 21, 2021

Tbrshou · Feb 21, 2021

Dav4 said:
I added a few more root grafts today... ready for spring!

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I'm in Hampton GA and I was wondering where do you keep getting all these trident seedlings from to do all your root grafts? I'll be in need for some soon.

Dav4 · Feb 22, 2021

Tbrshou said:
I'm in Hampton GA and I was wondering where do you keep getting all these trident seedlings from to do all your root grafts? I'll be in need for some soon.

My first root graft stock on this one came from Matt Ouwinga many years ago. I stratify and sow my own seeds now.

JudyB · Feb 23, 2021

This is looking so good, the movement is going to be so nice with the base you've built. Such good patient work!

Dav4 · Feb 23, 2021

JudyB said:
This is looking so good, the movement is going to be so nice with the base you've built. Such good patient work!

I'm 5 years into working this tree, and it's very gratifying to see the year in and year out improvements, particularly on the nebari. The branching has a ways to go, but it'll catch up in the next few years. Ultimately, my goal is to really get the roots where they won't need any more grafts, build up the existing but smaller roots coming off the back and side of the trunk, and then hopefully be ready to show off the nebari in a nice pot in a few years.

misfit11 · Feb 23, 2021

Very nice developing the base on this one, Dave. The nebari is looking fantastic. It just goes to show the benefits of growing a tree from the ground up. I'm having to go back and correct root problems on my Trident because I was more focused on developing the branching early on.

Oh, well. Live and learn, right? Now I know as I start other Tridents (and all bonsai really) to focus on the nebari first.

Really A+ quality work here.

leatherback · Feb 23, 2021

Great work!

I am surprised you need to graft so many roots. How deep is this planted that you do not get a lot of self-sprouting roots in the nebari?

Dav4 · Feb 23, 2021

leatherback said:
Great work!

I am surprised you need to graft so many roots. How deep is this planted that you do not get a lot of self-sprouting roots in the nebari?

You can look back at the pictures over the years to see where the soil level has typically fallen. There are plenty of roots that have grown from the trunk on their own over the years. Again, the pictures above will show that most of the rootage off the back wasn't grafted. Still, grafting allows one to place grafts exactly where you need/want them to be, and the newest grafts are going in between existing roots and will improve the overall nebari a bit more.

Drew · Mar 11, 2021

Dav4 said:
I added a few more root grafts today... ready for spring!

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Did you put this grafting nail through the center of the whip?

Dav4 · Mar 11, 2021

Drew said:
Did you put this grafting nail through the center of the whip?

No. It's placed off to the side. I've created grafts of various sorts using larger scions and have nailed through them, but smaller narrower trunks/branches can experience significant damage or even be killed by doing so.

Dav4 · Jul 30, 2021

It’s hot out and Tridence love hot weather

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Dav4 · Apr 18, 2022

This one spent the winter outside. It had dried out badly last fall while I was in the throes of trying to sell my house and move. Add to that the very abrupt freeze this one experienced when it landed in Michigan, followed by the three month long deep freeze that is the winter here and I was concerned that I might’ve lost it. Well, I did lose some of the smaller branching, but buds are popping all over so it was time to re-pot. As you can see the board this one was screwed to owed me and the tree absolutely nothing

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I had to redo one of the attempted root grafts and I decided to add another one for good measure. I finally got this one into a shallow ceramic pot, The largest one that I have for what it’s worth, that I might’ve borrowed from another tree that I probably should have left in Georgia and very likely doesn’t need it anymore

. Going forward I really need to redo the canopy and the Apex as I’m just not feeling it right now. Some branches will be shortened significantly while others will be removed entirely I’ve also got to rebuild that last section of trunk at the top… Yuck. I will say that it is kind of cool to begin to show the awesome nebari that’s been created by all the root grafts I’ve done on this beast over the years.