Potential Purchase - Trident Maple

Hawke84

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Hi all,
so you guys tend to be the harshest critics i know. I was after an honest opinion on a potential new tree for my collection. it will be the most i've spend on a tree so far and ive been looking for something fairly refined and 'finished' just to maintain and enjoy while i work on my other trees. I really cant see any obvious defects other that a tiny bit of wire bite.
whats everyone thoughts? (i know its always subjective) I'd appropriate the input. thanks :)

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Ohmy222

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Not sure the price but the tree is pretty awesome. There are some chunky branchlets but that is nothing. Very nice find.
 

vp999

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I like it ..what does one like this cost in the UK if you don't mind. I find that I enjoy the hobby a lot more if when I have a few nice trees on the bench as I am not at the level creating world class trees yet. In the mean time, Im learning to care for the trees that I have and playing with my less than desire trees to gain more experience.
 

Hawke84

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its listed on ebay for £2,500, but the seller has offered it to me for £1,700, hes a nice guy, i bought a great Deshojo from him last year.
@Adair M thank you for the feedback, i trust you opinion as ive seen several of your trees!

My main worries are:
1) i like smaller trees Chuhin type size, but with this im not sure ill ever get foliage layers, the winter silhouette looks fantastic but with foliage it looks a bit hedgy
2) leaves look pretty small so not sure ill get them smaller
3) couple of thicker branches up top and quite a lot of them, worried about loosing taper quickly

plus points
great nebari and there is more under the soil im told, in a shallow pot this will look fantastic

whats peoples thoughts on my worry list?
 

Hawke84

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I like it ..what does one like this cost in the UK if you don't mind. I find that I enjoy the hobby a lot more if when I have a few nice trees on the bench as I am not at the level creating world class trees yet. In the mean time, Im learning to care for the trees that I have and playing with my less than desire trees to gain more experience.
im sort of the same. i have a handful of 'cheap' trees £30-£50 mark which im not going to be upset loosing, then ive got a few more refined ones to enjoy while i mess around and develop some of the cheaper trees into something spectacular. also teaches me refinement stage as well as development stage.
 

vp999

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im sort of the same. i have a handful of 'cheap' trees £30-£50 mark which im not going to be upset loosing, then ive got a few more refined ones to enjoy while i mess around and develop some of the cheaper trees into something spectacular. also teaches me refinement stage as well as development stage.

Exactly my point, the nice ones give you motivation and keep you in the hobby.
 

WNC Bonsai

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Nice tree with some nice nebari. I was just watching a video of Peter Chan pruning his hedgehog trident. He has so e really impressive trees, seems to like the really big ones.
 

River's Edge

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its listed on ebay for £2,500, but the seller has offered it to me for £1,700, hes a nice guy, i bought a great Deshojo from him last year.
@Adair M thank you for the feedback, i trust you opinion as ive seen several of your trees!

My main worries are:
1) i like smaller trees Chuhin type size, but with this im not sure ill ever get foliage layers, the winter silhouette looks fantastic but with foliage it looks a bit hedgy
2) leaves look pretty small so not sure ill get them smaller
3) couple of thicker branches up top and quite a lot of them, worried about loosing taper quickly

plus points
great nebari and there is more under the soil im told, in a shallow pot this will look fantastic

whats peoples thoughts on my worry list?
The tree does have some nice development. My concern would be the trunk. The flow is disjointed and uneven with what appear to be several junctions of inverse taper. For that kind of money I would expect a smoother transition in the trunk and better taper overall. Perhaps the pictures do not do it justice. You are obviously looking for show quality and that makes the nebari, flare and trunk taper of utmost importance. The legginess in branch internodes is more easily corrected.
That being said it is of higher quality than usually seen on most benches. And I am not sure about the pricing in the UK, particularly if it is imported from another country! That may affect the price dramatically!
 

Canada Bonsai

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nice base!

if this were my tree, i would be interested in improving the transition of taper in the trunk. It looks like somebody made a big prune, and then rushed the development of the upper half of the trunk

edit: sorry Frank i didn’t see your post before hitting ‘enter’. Totally agree with you, as usual
 

BobbyLane

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i thought i was the only one whe sees what the above two posters see.i was talking about this tree with @ConorDash a few weeks ago and we thought the trunk looked a bit odd, maybe a little forced
this is another pic from the link

this is another one that looks a bit forced to my eye, or the nebari is just too big for the trunk🤔
 

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Hawke84

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The tree does have some nice development. My concern would be the trunk. The flow is disjointed and uneven with what appear to be several junctions of inverse taper. For that kind of money I would expect a smoother transition in the trunk and better taper overall. Perhaps the pictures do not do it justice. You are obviously looking for show quality and that makes the nebari, flare and trunk taper of utmost importance. The legginess in branch internodes is more easily corrected.
That being said it is of higher quality than usually seen on most benches. And I am not sure about the pricing in the UK, particularly if it is imported from another country! That may affect the price dramatically!
thank you, this is something i hadnt consciously spotted but you are right, particularly around the middle of the tree, there is a bit of swelling where the upper branches are so large. i'm not sure what to expect on a chuhin trident as i know they have a lot of vigor to them. All the tridents I've seen in the UK are usually fairly expensive, although I did buy a beautiful tree from @BobbyLane last year for a good price 😍
I was happy with the nebari, but actually it does loose some movement due to the swelling up the trunk.

I'll pause for now as i havent fallen in love with it right away.
thanks guys. I'll keep hunting and may post some more potential trees :)
 

Hawke84

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i thought i was the only one whe sees what the above two poster see.i was talking about this tree with @ConorDash a few weeks and we thought the trunk looked a bit odd, maybe a little forced
this is another pic from the link

this is another one that looks a bit forced to my eye, or the nebari is just too big for the trunk🤔
yeah i saw the Kaizen one and immediately dismissed it, the base just looked a mess! The trident from ebay i dont think is really what im looking for, i was looking for something more along the lines of this with clear layers and a gentle triangular taper to the trunk (smaller than this though)

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BobbyLane

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yeah i saw the Kaizen one and immediately dismissed it, the base just looked a mess! The trident from ebay i dont think is really what im looking for, i was looking for something more along the lines of this with clear layers and a gentle triangular taper to the trunk (smaller than this though)

View attachment 286228

you mean clear foliage pads.well the one you were looking at on ebay has these pine style foliage pads too but just needs more tidying up.the one above is certainly a better made tree.

btw i dont think the base on the kaizen trident looks a mess.its just that the proportions dont seem right.it could maybe be corrected with a few years in a grow bed.
 
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sorce

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I don't like the pot, design wise and Horticulturally.

I think that adds to the "ugly wide" base, so that can be lessened.

Seems "rushed" as they are saying, but I don't think that is the case persay.
Having lost some taper, "in quarantine" and wherever else it may have been unkept, is making that illusion worse.

Like it has sat for 2 years without correct pruning.

I thing it is important to undo that time before just moving forward.
It's not as easy as just "resuming the regularly scheduled program".

It is easier to make the problem worse, since that is what the tree wants to do, grow thick up top.

I think the trunk will look fine when you shorten the branches.
That'll solve your "hedge look" too, and bring some seperation.

If this was imported. A Japanese dude saw a problem that made that decision.
Find that problem and begin addressing it as well.

I'm not saying ground layer it, but don't rule it out.

I dig it.

Try to not buy the pot!

Sorce
 

jaco94

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Same opinion as the previous one .
For me this part of the tree is problematic compared to the asking price !

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ConorDash

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Also, is it just me or does that tree seriously need a repot?!?
 

AlainK

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Like any work of art, it's worth what the buyer is ready to pay. It's a tree that I would be happy to have : not perfect, but what's the fun in buying a "finished" bonsai ?....

To me, it still seems to be a little over-priced, but if it's a "coup de coeur" maybe you could try to negociate further.

Anyway, I couldn't afford it 🥴
 
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