Trident Forest

dlayton

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Got the forest 3 years ago. I’ve done one repot and just normal maintenance up until this point.

I really wanna take it to the next level. I apologize for the lack of quality in the pics but I just don’t have a photographers eye, plus I just had back surgery and I’m not allowed to lift more than a milk jug. I sneezed at supper tonight and I swear I think my spine detached!!!
Anywho, bringing this to the nuts bc I wanna make this a eye catcher. Tell me what you think!!!18B6821C-83C7-4534-BFEB-EE81E24E58A0.jpeg7E78D80A-C26C-4F73-8E0D-5AA1C212F41A.jpeg
 

Forsoothe!

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As you chop, do so where there is a branch small enough to force up vertically with the chop to be rearward being hidden by the new leader. But, leave a stub long enough for now to wire that new, small leader to for now, it will make it much easier to hold it vertical and you can barber the back of the extra stub later after it is firmly vertical. I think the trick is to choose a smaller twig to be that new leader, it will grow anyway and there will be less of a witness bump where it turns upwards than a bigger branch/twig.
 

Shibui

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Looks like a nice run of the mill trident group. I can pick a couple of things I would work on.
first is overall aesthetics or design factors:
All the trees appear to be around the same height. Probably comes from just shearing the top instead of pruning trees individually. Outer trees will look better when they are proportionally shorter than the middle ones. Thinner trees will generally be shorter than thicker ones except where there is a thin one in the centre.
Space or a track through the middle of a group can give great perspective but in this one the space goes straight through to the back and seems to draw the eye away from the actual trees and the group. I created such a group but splitting it into 2 halves and turning one section slightly so a few trees went behind the other half made a big difference. Instead of a straight highway through the middle of the forest I now have a winding path which gets thinner as it goes away (perspective).
Your thickest tree is way out on the right. thicker trunks help give a focal point which is much better placed toward the centre of the group. i think part of the problem is that we expect a group of trees to have older (bigger) trees toward the middle and smaller younger trees toward the edges (new trees growing further and further from the parents) One of the problems with long term maintenance of groups is that the outside trunks have more root room and they also tend to have more branches and leaves. That means they also grow quicker even if we keep pruning. I find it necessary to prune outer trees harder and occasionally defoliate to slow their growth so they do not outpace the inner trees.

Branch detail and maintenance pruning:
I can see one taller tree where the apex is a branch at nearly 90 degrees. That does not look like the canopy of any deciduous tree I know. you can afford to do some hedge trimming maintenance but at least once a year it is important to go through every trunk and every branch and prune to shape or wire to shape o make a natural looking canopy. leaves can hide all that in summer but your group should look even better while bare in winter.
Leaves are still on so some detail is not clear. It is also hard to properly assess 3D bonsai design from a couple of 2D photos but I get the feeling the upper twigs are just a confused mass. Again, detailed pruning in winter is required to bring the summer growth back to some sort of order each year.
It does not look like the upper branches have started to thicken unduly yet. That's something I have seen in my groups after a few years of just general trimming which needs to be rectified with ruthless pruning of thicker branches in the upper canopy.

Going forward: Take more time over pruning. At least once a year a detailed thinning and pruning is a good idea.
The thicker right tree will be harder to manage. It is never too late to remove or replace trees in a group. Consider removing that one altogether or even moving it to a more central location.
as already mentioned the central highway can be altered by chopping the group into 2 or more sections and rearranging the parts. it is not really unusual for established groups to be broken up and recombined to make better arrangements.

That's a fair bit of criticism. I hope it is not too discouraging. The group is nice but taking it to the next level means looking for and accepting possible shortcomings. We also all see things differently so I am more than happy for you to ignore any or all of my thoughts.
 

dlayton

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Oh no no no. I posted it for candid feedback. I didn’t post it as a show worthy piece! So thank you!
I purchased this a while back so that I could have a “specimen” that I could work on learning maintenance and not everything in my garden be a 20-30 year project! So all I have been doing is studying and watching and just keeping the basic shape the same for this long. This is what I wanted y’all to say!!!

I read somewhere a few days ago that the difference between great forest and average ones is pruning each tree individually. That’s what you’re saying! And I’ve never done that!

so based on what you’re saying, hedge prune this year. And then maybe next winter do a complete and total restyle!?!?
 

dlayton

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As you chop, do so where there is a branch small enough to force up vertically with the chop to be rearward being hidden by the new leader. But, leave a stub long enough for now to wire that new, small leader to for now, it will make it much easier to hold it vertical and you can barber the back of the extra stub later after it is firmly vertical. I think the trick is to choose a smaller twig to be that new leader, it will grow anyway and there will be less of a witness bump where it turns upwards than a bigger branch/twig.
There are a lot of 90 degree cuts where the previous owner chopped but didn’t wire. Should I cut then off and start those sections over?
 

leatherback

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Should I cut then off and start those sections over?

pruning each tree individually

Maybe consider each tree in the forest as a branch in a full grown bonsai, which together come together and a united canopy. Look at where the branches of each tree go, give each tree its own space to grow in: The branches should not conflict with branches of neighboring trees (Or with branches from the same tree for that matter). Look at the angles: Do they come together across the forest? If not, wire or, if not possible to wire, trim the offending branches.

As @Shibui discussed, look at keeping thick trunks taller. In the tops I see some clumps of branches from repeated pruning to the same point. I would want those removed too. In all I would look at something in this direction, but again, use trunk thickness as a guide for height where reasonable.

1616856683841.png
 

Forsoothe!

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There are a lot of 90 degree cuts where the previous owner chopped but didn’t wire. Should I cut then off and start those sections over?
I can't know if that's good or bad to do. I only make suggestions to keep in mind about processes for the future. @Shibui made some good suggestions for future styling where you can use these methods to trim the upper portions. You can see how the 90 degree angles look after some time lapse: ungainly.
 

LanceMac10

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dlayton

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Is it too late to repot and reposition some of the trees this year? Or is it too late?
 

leatherback

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Is it too late to repot and reposition some of the trees this year? Or is it too late?
Is the first picture how it looks now? Then I would not anymore. Normally you try and do this around the moment the buds are opening.
 

dlayton

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Thank you all for the advice! I am learning and I appreciate it sincerely. Obviously, this thing needs some work. I am going to leave it along for this year, do a strong prune in the fall/winter and then do a repot next year a probably separate the forest and rearrange.

I need one of ya'll to just come to my house and fix all my stuff! :)

Again, since thanks!
 

sorce

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I need one of ya'll to just come to my house and fix all my stuff!

I'm not that good but I'll be in GA this year!

I don't think you should just hedge prune it and wait.

If it's been healthy, get out those "less then a milkjug weight" pruners, and get busy!

Waiting till fall to do a mindless prune is not just wasting this year, but strong top growth is going to destroy your Future goals too.

In a couple weeks, I'd prune the whole thing for thickness/height correctness, completely disregarding everything else.

Look for upward pointing new buds and restart second segments.

It doesn't matter if they all bud good, or even live, cuz IMO, you got too many.

With the rearranging, position doesn't matter.

Get your heights right this year, and if the popped buds work, bonus, if not, no worries.

Sorce
 

sorce

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Mindless.

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Sorce
 
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