Trident. Lazy man fusion.

[fredman]

I germinated a lot of seeds last year. These 11 I tied in a bunch and planted them in a pot. Drilled the pot full of holes and put it in the ground. They grew well over the year. They now are about 3" in diameter.

Some of them has started to lazily fuse, so I thought i'll help them along this year. I didn't want to take them out the pot and risk them maybe falling apart. I tied them snugly up with sisal rope. Hoping they will fuse better this way. The rope usually lasts about 3 mnths in the weather.

Drilled some bigger holes around the pot so the roots can wonder further.

Planted it back into the grow bed


I'm expecting it to at least double in girth this year. Holding thumbs for good fusion...

 

[Wilson]

Good on ya! It is always fun to have different projects. The ones that are more out of the ordinary, are really interesting.

 

[jcrossett]

Can't wait to see how this works out. Good luck.

 

[CWTurner]

Interesting project, but it looks like it will fuse into a straight taper-less trunk.
Or are you hoping to get a ropey look from the multiple saplings? If so, I guess you'll chop it low and pot it up before the trunks completely fuse and smooth out.
Keep us posted.
CW

 

[namnhi]

Fredman,
I don't know about this. It probably will work but most likely taking years. These are trident, the time it takes to fused to get that trunk size probably the same as if you plant them out individually. You most like to get that trunk size in a couple years grow in the ground.
NN

 

[fredman]

Yeah this was mostly a fooling around "project" with hopeful outcomes...
These actually were excess/leftover saplings from last years playing sessions. I didn't know what to do with them, so I tied them in a bunch and put them in the pot to see what will happen. I didn't have any plan other than to see how they fuse, and get a thicker trunk faster.
Now i'm glad I did that. I actually took measurements at soil level and on top of the twine. The difference is exactly 1 ", so there is some taper already. Tridents flair out well so that can only improve more. My hope is for the base and beneath to fuse well. I can then take it out (in a season or two) and plant it on a tile. Then the base can radically flair....
In my climate Tridents don't actually grow that fast. Our spring and summer nights are mostly chilly and that disturbs growth with most of the trees across the board.
The one in the photo below is 2 year's growth that germinated and grew in a unwanted place in the grow bed. Way to slow for a Trident...

This is turning out to be a worthwhile project. As I see it, I have at least two options...in future I can either chop it lowish for a broom or chop certain individual trees strategically to create drastic taper. It still has a long way to go, but all i'm interested in now is getting good fusion from the bottom up...tomorrow will look after itself.
I'm in no great hurry when it comes to anything bonsai. I just relish the fooling around part....

 

[fredman]

Goodness me. Just realized this all has been two years in the making....not last year as I said above

This is another I did that same year. I drilled 13 off 1/2" holes through one of the wife's oven pans. Placed the pan in the grow bed and placed a germinated seedling in each hole. All 13 took and grew strongly. It grew like that for two years. I dug it up last week.

I was a bit reluctant to cut the roots away from the bottom. I could see there was some fusion on the outside but don't really knew how much overall. I eventually decided to do it and take what I get. Surprisingly it was fused solid from the centre outwards.

Perfectly flat roots

I decided to keep 5 and removed the rest

Screwed it to a board and potted it up. I plan to cut all 5 very low.... starting at soil level and the rest at various heights. One is cut already. I'm waiting for a saw blade that fits the Dremel. When that arrives i'll do some of the others. I've got side branches (on some of them) to cut to already. The rest will be cut depended on where it buds.


Hopefully this can be the start of a worthwhile multi trunk in time...

 

[namnhi]

Fredman - the group is looking nice now. I think you should cut the outer trees a bit shorter then the inside ones.

 

[fredman]

I think you should cut the outer trees a bit shorter then the inside ones.

Thanks. It sure is fun. Its a very log term thing, but at least I can do the start. Deciding where to cut is critically important. I want to start right at the bottom to get good movement as low as possible. Like I said it all depends on where it buds.
I'm aiming for something along these lines...