PIGLET CHAPTER 2

[MACH5]

Up, up and away! Growing like gangbusters. Soon it will go through the top of the arbor. The vigorous growth has help thicken the transitions of some of the secondary branches that I felt needed some more girth. The trunk is so powerful that proportionally I want to make sure the canopy attains the same feel. The rapid growth has also helped in fusing the root grafts to the parent tree.






Checked on two of the root grafts to see the progress. I was happy to discover that they had taken and solidly attached. Let's hope the others will have similar success! These will be left alone until mid next year. At which time they will be cut off.

 

[cmeg1]

Nice to see this tree getting all the attention.Excited to see it progress!

 

[Dav4]

Man, that piglet trunk is iconic!

 

[JudyB]

Man, that piglet trunk is iconic!

Good way to put it, recognizable from outer space!

 

[MACH5]

It is definitely my kind of tree! It does remind very much me of something Walter would work on. I plan on cutting it back hard this fall and wire it in late winter of next year. The back side will need additional root grafts in the spring.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Loving we get to continue to watch piglet's journey. Piglet is very happy with all that growth!

 

[JudyB]

Loving we get to continue to watch piglet's journey. Piglet is very happy with all that growth!

Well that is something you never had to worry about with the Pig, as long as you feed it, it will grow!

 

[parhamr]

The tree has small leaves. I am not surprised it originally came from Japan. As expected the leaves on the long rummers do get larger but most all are quite small even with no defoliation done and heavily fed.

What’s a good leaf size on a trident? I’ve seen some mature trees from Dennis Vojtilla but haven’t had a whole lot to compare against. From memory, I’m thinking about 0.75" in leaf length looked great.

My single trident develops large (3" long) leaves on the sacrificial leader but I’ve seen some delicate leaves only about the size of a nickel on it.

 

[AlainK]

What’s a good leaf size on a trident?

I have a buerger that I drastically pruned, I didn't defoliate it, but the leaves are very small. the bigger ones are about 2 cm (0,787402 inch), wheres one left grow freely in a big pot has leaves about 6-7 cm (2,3622 to 2,75591 inches).

But... the "good leaf size" on any bonsai is the one that fits the design of the tree

 

[misfit11]

Great work on this, MACH5. I always admired this tree from Judy's posts.

 

[Toraidento]

Another amazing tree Sergio. Glad you got it. Please keep posting updates. I just love watching your work

 

[Stormwater]

I purchased and picked up Judy's famous trident maple "PIGLET" last year in the fall. As the story goes, I originally wanted to buy this tree from Don a few years back. When I contacted him to pull the trigger I was disappointed to know that someone else had beaten me to the punch. About a week later I found out it was none other than Judy who bought the tree when she posted it here.

Little that I know that Piglet would eventually make its way into my garden. And so... I pick things up where Judy left them and the story continues into the next chapter. Here is Judy's original thread for more context: https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/pigletts-progress.18372/

Below Piglet when it arrived at my place November 2018.






The two main tasks that I wanted to accomplish this year were to make several root grafts and transplant it into a wooden box as I'd like to thicken up some trunk to branch transitions. Below Piglet before the work.






After the work was completed. Fourteen root grafts were done and a transfer into a wooden box. The grafted seedlings were all wire to face up and out to ensure they receive good light and air. The soil covered in fine sphagnum moss will help keep the grafts nice and damp and all were sealed with cut paste. No other work was done at this time.










Some photos of the process. A 50/50 mix of akadama and pumice was used.

That’s so awesome, what do you use for the bottom of your boxes?

 

[MACH5]

That’s so awesome, what do you use for the bottom of your boxes?

I use a piece of plywood drilled with 1/4" holes about an inch apart from each other.

 

[parhamr]

I use a piece of plywood drilled with 1/4" holes about an inch apart from each other.

Does the plywood ever delaminate? How does it rot?

 

[Lars Grimm]

Plywood can definitely rot over time, but frequently it doesn't rot fast enough to cause any problems before repotting. I know some people have experimented with using cutting boards made out of plastic as an alternative.

 

[Toraidento]

So using the plywood in this manner takes out screwing plywood to the tree, spreading roots out laterally, and using nails/screws to hold them in place? Like in the Elbihara Maples post? In that one the screwed plywood to the tree then placed tree in a Anderson Flat. Just a different version of that isn't it?

 

[kobusbonsainut]

So using the plywood in this manner takes out screwing plywood to the tree, spreading roots out laterally, and using nails/screws to hold them in place? Like in the Elbihara Maples post? In that one the screwed plywood to the tree then placed tree in a Anderson Flat. Just a different version of that isn't it?

I understood in one of rhe first posts from @markyscott that plywood rotted away under the tree

 

[Adair M]

I understood in one of rhe first posts from @markyscott that plywood rotted away under the tree

I have used plywood under a Zelkova for the Ebihara technique. I did it for a year, and the plywood did not deteriorate significantly. But, using a solid board is probably better.

 

[MACH5]

So using the plywood in this manner takes out screwing plywood to the tree, spreading roots out laterally, and using nails/screws to hold them in place? Like in the Elbihara Maples post? In that one the screwed plywood to the tree then placed tree in a Anderson Flat. Just a different version of that isn't it?

No, this is not at all related to the Ebihara method. The plywood used for my box is just a way to construct the box. The use of a board to improve the nebari is an entirely different matter

 

[MACH5]

This year didn't do much expect let Piglet just take off. The intent was to let some of the trunk-to-primary transitions thicken. Below how it looked in October. The tree had grown through the top of the arbor and beyond. Later, the tree was cut back to a rough outline once it stopped growing.






Below, how the tree looked before it was worked on. There were plenty of thick, blunt and ugly ends from the drastic cut back.








Many of those thick branches were removed in favor of finer and more delicate growth.






The massive trident after refinement work, taking it one step further in its development.












All branches were carefully examined and cut back to the first or second node while others, depending on their location, were left longer while also ensuring that all branches bifurcated cleanly.








Intended final outline marked in green.






Out of the 14 root grafts made this past spring, one died while all others look to have taken. They were cut back at the time of this styling to facilitate the work. They will be left to grow again until midsummer of 2020. At that time I will asses their progress and start cutting them off as each become fully fused with the mother trunk.

Incredible presence and three dimensional quality on this hefty trident that is tough to fully capture in photos. I am thoroughly loving this tree!