My first Trident

[Jeffery063]

Just wanted to post my first trident/bonsai here as a introduction. My name is Jeffery im 31 and I’m in western ky zone 6b.

I’ve been reading a lot of the posts here recently and am excited to watch this guy grow.

My mom got me a bonsai several years ago that was stolen one day off my porch. That’s the extent of my experience with them. Since then I have wanted another but I just wasn’t in the position to acquire another.

After browsing the internet for awhile and missing out on several I was interested in a guy said he had a few more he was willing to part with and this is the one I settled on.

Anyways just wanted to introduce myself I know it’s not perfect but it’s mine now

here’s some pics

s.

 

[erb.75]

Well this was a lot better than I imagined from the title...welcome!

 

[jmw_bonsai]

Just wanted to post my first trident/bonsai here as a introduction. My name is Jeffery im 31 and I’m in western ky zone 6b.

I’ve been reading a lot of the posts here recently and am excited to watch this guy grow.

My mom got me a bonsai several years ago that was stolen one day off my porch. That’s the extent of my experience with them. Since then I have wanted another but I just wasn’t in the position to acquire another.

After browsing the internet for awhile and missing out on several I was interested in a guy said he had a few more he was willing to part with and this is the one I settled on.

Anyways just wanted to introduce myself I know it’s not perfect but it’s mine now

here’s some pics

s.View attachment 220090View attachment 220091View attachment 220092View attachment 220093View attachment 220094View attachment 220095

Nice tree, You might consider removing the large branch on the inner curve below the top. Looks like if it continues it might develop some reverse taper on the inner curve.

 

[bonsaichile]

Welcome!

 

[Jeffery063]

Nice tree, You might consider removing the large branch on the inner curve below the top. Looks like if it continues it might develop some reverse taper on the inner curve.

Honestly I’d like to cut more than that off. I’m still undecided but I did make a little mock up of my first thoughts, I’m just not sure the steps to get there

 

[R3x]

How about this?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

How about this?

If you want to do this, read this article by @Smoke here first:
https://bonsaial.wordpress.com/2017/08/14/short-leg-productions-presents-a-trident-maple-conundrum/
The short is, if the OP chops where you drew the red line, it will likely die all the way to the ground on the right side.

To get closer to the virt in post 5, it does need to be chopped, but it needs to have growth on both sides of the chop first.

It is possible to thread-graft (blue) in the spring to prepare the tree for a chop later (yellow):

Then the chop will heal, and you have established a new leader, or the tree will provide one in response to the chop.

After a couple more years, it will start to head toward your vision:

 

[Jeffery063]

If you want to do this, read this article by @Smoke here first:
https://bonsaial.wordpress.com/2017/08/14/short-leg-productions-presents-a-trident-maple-conundrum/
The short is, if the OP chops where you drew the red line, it will likely die all the way to the ground on the right side.

To get closer to the virt in post 5, it does need to be chopped, but it needs to have growth on both sides of the chop first.

It is possible to thread-graft (blue) in the spring to prepare the tree for a chop later (yellow):
View attachment 220586
Then the chop will heal, and you have established a new leader, or the tree will provide one in response to the chop.

After a couple more years, it will start to head toward your vision:
View attachment 220587

Well that’s not what I wanted to wake up to this morning. I had read that post by smoke before I bought this tree. Being new at this I guess this will be a learning experience in a way I hadn’t expected but that’s okay. This tree has a bud right in the area of where your left green branch is. Also has nodes under where the fork is at the top on the left side. My thinking was that it hadn’t done what the tree in the post had due to those two things. Sad to hear that you think it has and I’ll bank on your opinion more than I would mine at this point.

 

[Jeffery063]

Well that’s not what I wanted to wake up to this morning. I had read that post by smoke before I bought this tree. Being new at this I guess this will be a learning experience in a way I hadn’t expected but that’s okay. This tree has a bud right in the area of where your left green branch is. Also has nodes under where the fork is at the top on the left side. My thinking was that it hadn’t done what the tree in the post had due to those two things. Sad to hear that you think it has and I’ll bank on your opinion more than I would mine at this point.

Replace left with right. Everything I was talking about is on the right! Lmao sorry had just woke up.

 

[eb84327]

If you want to do this, read this article by @Smoke here first:
https://bonsaial.wordpress.com/2017/08/14/short-leg-productions-presents-a-trident-maple-conundrum/
The short is, if the OP chops where you drew the red line, it will likely die all the way to the ground on the right side.

To get closer to the virt in post 5, it does need to be chopped, but it needs to have growth on both sides of the chop first.

It is possible to thread-graft (blue) in the spring to prepare the tree for a chop later (yellow):
View attachment 220586
Then the chop will heal, and you have established a new leader, or the tree will provide one in response to the chop.

After a couple more years, it will start to head toward your vision:
View attachment 220587

so i did something similar to my first trident maple. It ended up almost a disaster. It didnt grow for almost 2 years after i did it. i got lucky it didnt just die. I wish i would have know about this page and would have read that article before i did what i did because i would have done it different.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Then just let it grow for a couple months next spring and you may get something to cut back to. No big deal, Bonsai just takes a lot of time or a little money or vice-versa.

But, the bare-root photo in post 1...that’s not recent is it?

 

[Jeffery063]

Then just let it grow for a couple months next spring and you may get something to cut back to. No big deal, Bonsai just takes a lot of time or a little money or vice-versa.

But, the bare-root photo in post 1...that’s not recent is it?

Yeah this thread was created that night the picture was taken or next day.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Yeah this thread was created that night the picture was taken or next day.

So you’re in KY and have a bare-rooted trident maple in mid-December? How did that happen? This tree will need really good winter protection (like a stable 38-40f until mid-March) or it’s not likely to live. There’s a season for everything, and winter isn’t the season for bare-rooting trees. Good luck!

 

[Jeffery063]

So you’re in KY and have a bare-rooted trident maple in mid-December? How did that happen? This tree will need really good winter protection (like a stable 38-40f until mid-March) or it’s not likely to live. There’s a season for everything, and winter isn’t the season for bare-rooting trees. Good luck!

It was shipped that way. :/