Root-over-rock Trident Maples

[pjkatich]

Paul as always good work. A composition that is coming together very quickly for you. It makes me see that I am not fertilizing my maples nearly enough. My only question is how much die back you expect at the cut points if any. I assume the maples are very strong with all the buds pushing but I didnt know if you still have to leave some room at cuts for potential die back.

Hi Josh,

Thanks for the positive feedback.

Which cut points are you referring to, the roots or the trunks?

In regards to your maples, are you following the suggested fertilizing schedule I provided during my demo?

Feel free to give me a shout if you need help.

Regards,
Paul

 

[Jrbrown4]

Fertilize

I actually just got out my notes from that meeting and am going to go buy some new fertilizer this weekend.

The cuts I was asking about were on the tree itself not the roots.

 

[pjkatich]

The cuts I was asking about were on the tree itself not the roots.

Josh,

It has been my experience that trident maples are very hardy trees and will callous over larges cuts in a reasonable amount of time.

With that said, I do not expect any problems with the first trident. I had two small branches in an advantageous spot and made a slanting trunk cut at that point. I sealed the cut and wired up one of the small branches as a new leader which should focus the energy of the tree and help with healing over the trunk cut.

I'm not as sure with the second trident. Having no small, lower branches to work with, I made a straight trunk cut above what appears to be a few latent buds. Now I will need to wait and see what the tree wants to do. What happens next will depend on which buds sprout. There could be some die-back if the buds that sprout are lower down the trunk.

Regards,
Paul

 

[ichoudhury]

Very impressive .. keep up the great work and keep us posted on your progress. Thanks!

 

[pjkatich]

Very impressive .. keep up the great work and keep us posted on your progress. Thanks!

Again, it is a little early for any re-potting. However, below are a few photos of contestant #1 to bring you up to date. These photos were taken today.

The first photo shows the growth achieved this year. As you can see, the tall whip was cut back once in August.

The remaining are a look at what is currently above the soil line.

I will be addressing the roots below the soil line in another month or so. I will post more photos of this tree at that time.

Paul

 

[pjkatich]

Now for contestant #2.

I experienced somewhat of a set back on this tree. What I thought were dormant buds never materialize.

The first photo shows what the tree looked like at the end of June last year. As you can see, the trunk chop has completely callused over but no shoots have sprouted. The second photo shows a close-up of the callus.

I have experienced this with tridents before and this tree is probably history. However, I decided to try and save this one from the bone yard by making an approach graft to the trunk.

The third photo shows the donor tree.

The other two photos show the aftermath of the attempted approach graft.

At this point, the jury is still out. Unfortunately, there was not much growth out of the donor tree the rest of the growing season.

Nothing more will be done to this tree in the upcoming growing season. Hopefully, the donor tree will put on enough growth this year to complete the graft.

Cheers,
Paul

 

[will0911]

Hi...I just finished reading this thread and was wondering if the second tree made it through? Great thread btw!

 

[pjkatich]

Hi...I just finished reading this thread and was wondering if the second tree made it through? Great thread btw!

As a matter of fact Will, it did survive and is moving in a positive direction again.

I'm glad you enjoyed the thread and I'll see what I can do about posting a couple of updated photos.

Regards,
Paul

 

[will0911]

Awesome! Good to here it pulled through! No rush just using this as reference and was just curious!

 

[pjkatich]

As promised, here are some updated photos of the two trident maples.

Below are photos of contestant #2. This is the tree that I had to do an approach graft on to save it from the bone pile.

The first photo shows the graft as is appeared on 6/27/11.

The second photo shows the point where the donor tree was cut loose.

The third photo shows the back of the graft.

The forth photo shows the back of the graft after I cleaned it up.

Again, these photos were taken on 6/27/11. After the donor tree was cut loose, I trimmed back the new leader and removed all the leaves and hoped for the best.

Regards,
Paul

 

[pjkatich]

The following photos were taken today.

As you can see, the graft was a success and the tree responded very well after the donor plant was cut loose.

The first photo shows the tree as it looked today. All the growth in this photo occurred since 6/27/11.

The second photo shows the front of the graft.

The second photo shows the back of the graft.

The third photo shows the nebari.

Regards,
Paul

 

[pjkatich]

And here are a few photos of contestant #1.

This tree is progressing nicely at this point.

The first photo shows what the tree looks like today.

The second photo shows the nebari.

The third photo shows the point where the branches will be developed.

Your comments and feedback are always welcome.

Cheers,
Paul

 

[will0911]

wow! it grow alot in a few months....i guess i shouldnt be surprised since i know florida is a good place for growing! congrats on the tree and you are very good at doing root over rocks and other things!

 

[discusmike]

Cool,i remember when you started these,they look much different,cant wait till this time next year

 

[tmmason10]

I am impressed on how well that graft took on #2. I like the way #1 is progressing looks to be a great start. I'll be patiently awaiting the future of these progressions.

 

[pjkatich]

wow! it grow alot in a few months....i guess i shouldnt be surprised since i know florida is a good place for growing! congrats on the tree and you are very good at doing root over rocks and other things!

Your right Will, we are blessed with a long growing season here in Florida. That is one reason why these two trees have progressed so rapidly.

Thanks for the compliment.

Cheers,
Paul

 

[pjkatich]

Cool,i remember when you started these,they look much different,cant wait till this time next year

Hi Mike,

Thanks for taking the time to comment.

Your right, they have come a long way in the last two years.

I'll do my best to keep you updated.

Regards,
Paul

 

[pjkatich]

I am impressed on how well that graft took on #2. I like the way #1 is progressing looks to be a great start. I'll be patiently awaiting the future of these progressions.

I was surprised a bit myself Tom.

This was the first time that I have attempted a graft on any of my trees. I figured there was nothing to loose since there were no dormant buds on what was left of the trunk.

Thanks for the feedback.

Regards,
Paul

 

[tmmason10]

Any updates, Paul?

 

[pjkatich]

Any updates, Paul?

Here you go Tom.

Here is what contestant #1 looked like in March.



The nebari.



After some trimming and wiring.


Regards,
Paul