Trident Maple Forest

[Dorian Fourie]

Great progression story, Dorian ! The stairs gave scale to the whole forest & yet, is subtle, does not distract. Lot of good suggestions too. This is what differentiates a post on a forum here vs. posting on blog/youtube/fb.

I took the liberty of doing a side by side comparison of your pics. Hope you do not mind

View attachment 118252

Thanks so much for the positive feedback. I really appreciate it. Definitely do not mind. Huge difference and improvement I must agree.

Thanks once again.

 

[Dorian Fourie]

The tree has filled out nicely. Still fine tuning the moss in some areas. Right now it is a fine balancing act in getting the moss to grow or burning it to death in the South African heat.

 

[Dorian Fourie]

Just a quick update on the trident maple forest.

I was really in 2 minds if I should take along the forest for the regional bonsai competition. The reason is that they would be choosing the top 10 trees (5 x 300mm from the pot rim and higher and 5 x below 300 mm from the pot rim) and because the whole regions clubs come together, I knew that the competition would be tough.

Well I decided that nothing ventured, nothing gained and took it along and entered it into the comp. Well imagine my surprise when I got bronze. So the hard work of firstly keeping the moss alive and green in 35 - 38 Celsius temps (95 -101 Fahrenheit) and then making sure that I keep the shape with the rampant growth that I have been having.

Now to hope that the weather cools down slightly because I would like to defoliate the upper leaves to get more light into the lower branches.

 

[Bolero]

Dorian I've gone thru all the postings of the your Trident Maple Forest Grouping and it shows some marvelous work, your most recent with the Steps leading up thru the Trees is very different, artistic and creative...
I will be doing a Trident Maple Grouping in the Spring 2017 and you've given me some ideas...
I applaud you, Bravo.....

 

[Dorian Fourie]

Dorian I've gone thru all the postings of the your Trident Maple Forest Grouping and it shows some marvelous work, your most recent with the Steps leading up thru the Trees is very different, artistic and creative...
I will be doing a Trident Maple Grouping in the Spring 2017 and you've given me some ideas...
I applaud you, Bravo.....

Thanks so much Bolero. I really appreciate the comments.

I am not too sure if I am 100% happy with the steps. I feel they come down too straight towards you and then make a right turn. I feel it could of come more from the left and made a subtle turn towards the right. But hey. For now they will stay just like that.

I am going to wire the outer most trees more outwards to make the forest look fuller and hopefully in the next few years it will fill up nicely

 

[Bolero]

Dorian I would like to suggest that you might try cluttering up your Ground Cover to more resemble an actual Forest Floor,
some Branches, some dead fallen leaves, maybe a tree stump, some smallish Rock..........anything you put down could easily be removed with tweezers, so not a permanent change....just a Thought

 

[Dorian Fourie]

Dorian I would like to suggest that you might try cluttering up your Ground Cover to more resemble an actual Forest Floor,
some Branches, some dead fallen leaves, maybe a tree stump, some smallish Rock..........anything you put down could easily be removed with tweezers, so not a permanent change....just a Thought

Thanks for the feedback. Absolutely part of the plan. I have been searching for a good type of rock that has a really aged and weathered look but also something that stands out if placed under the trees. So far nothing has really caught my eye.

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

First time i see this forest. I like it. Congrats!

 

[Dorian Fourie]

First time i see this forest. I like it. Congrats!

Thanks Dirk

 

[Dorian Fourie]

So I decided that it is time to add some rocks into my Trident maple forest. As much as I really like the steps that I have put into the forest, I am always feeling that the steps are out of place. I imagined I was in the forest and I keep on thinking why would steps be there. The grass "Moss" seems nice and rolling and steps would not be there (I hope you understand my train of thought)

So I cut a large amount of rock pieces (turns out that my rocks that I wanted to use for Root over rock were perfect) and got stuck in.

The first step was to put some rocks just to the right of the bend on the steps. Something straight up like a rock face so that the steps have something to move around.

 

[Dorian Fourie]

Next I put some rocks to the left of the steps.

 

[Dorian Fourie]

This is how it looked like once I was finished playing around with putting in the moss etc.

 

[Dorian Fourie]

Today I put some wire onto 3 of the trees so that the canopy will hopefully be able to fill out more. The smallest tree on the far left was wired for some movement and to bring it out to the left more.

The tree on the far right was anchored further to the right. Then one of the trees from the centre bunch was anchored towards the left and to the front.

Let me know your thoughts on the progress so far. Bring on the critique should you think any changes can be made?

 

[Dorian Fourie]

Now I feel that I am not finished with putting rocks in and this is where I need some help and on your thoughts.

The area that I would like to work on next is on the right in the red rectangle. I feel that there needs to be a rock / s in there.


I have quite a few that could work but need your assistance and thoughts on moving forward.
No 1.
Just a small rock pushed into the moss



No 2.
A different small rock pushed into the moss


No 3.
This one could be difficult to see because of the picture but it is a larger rock that looks very much like a small rock face. The idea is to push it as far back as it can go right to the base of the 2 trees above it. Once it is pushed back, the areas around the base and to the right will be filled up


No 3.1.
This is the same rock but it is more horizontal. Once it is pushed back, the areas around the base and to the right will be filled up


No 4.
The final thought is the same rock as in no 3 but turned around so the the top has become the bottom. It now has a more of a over hang feel to it and the break mark on the left can easily be covered up by moss


Let me hear what you have to say?

Thanks in advance

 

[Wilson]

Let me first say that the rocks look great, a good addition. I was looking at that right side thinking that some mini plants like I have seen in forest plantings by @johng These will add a different dynamic, than just rocks. I believe you could use mini azaleas, or mini ferns, many options depending on the image you are after. I do think between John's forest plantings and Arthur Joura's at the arboreteum you can find endless natural inspirations. Happy hunting, and keep us up to date!

 

[Bolero]

Absolutely Magnificent, you've totally transformed the Setting with the Rock Placement...
The Rock adds Depth and Realism to the eye, I look at the Setting and my imagination takes over and says "Where do those Steps lead to ? Where are they going ???
You could maybe add a fallen branch or a tree stump on the right side in that slight depression just to the left of the 2 trees, just a thought...
Your selection of Rock type is Perfect.
Technically I would call this a Saikei or maybe a Penjing of a Trident Grouping...
Rocks on the right draw my sight away from the Steps and Rocks on the left, Less might be More in this Setting...Give it a try.

 

[Dorian Fourie]

Let me first say that the rocks look great, a good addition. I was looking at that right side thinking that some mini plants like I have seen in forest plantings by @johng These will add a different dynamic, than just rocks. I believe you could use mini azaleas, or mini ferns, many options depending on the image you are after. I do think between John's forest plantings and Arthur Joura's at the arboreteum you can find endless natural inspirations. Happy hunting, and keep us up to date!

Thanks so much Wilson

I am keeping my eyes open for some mini plants. Just want to make sure I find one that does not spread and take over.

 

[Dorian Fourie]

Absolutely Magnificent, you've totally transformed the Setting with the Rock Placement...
The Rock adds Depth and Realism to the eye, I look at the Setting and my imagination takes over and says "Where do those Steps lead to ? Where are they going ???
You could maybe add a fallen branch or a tree stump on the right side in that slight depression just to the left of the 2 trees, just a thought...
Your selection of Rock type is Perfect.
Technically I would call this a Saikei or maybe a Penjing of a Trident Grouping...
Rocks on the right draw my sight away from the Steps and Rocks on the left, Less might be More in this Setting...Give it a try.

Thanks so much Bolero.

I am very happy with the rocks that I chose. I believe they fit very well and make the stairs look more natural. Over the next few weeks / months, the moss will settle and fill up the gaps and hopefully just make it a little more realistic. I will keep the less might be more in mind. Maybe only put in a few small rocks on the right just to break the green slightly.

I like the idea of a stump or fallen branch. I actually looked at miniature plastic ones that they use on railway model sets. They look really realistic but I want to see them in my hand first and not on the PC before making the choice of getting them. I will also keep my eyes open for any dead branches that will fit in with the scale.

 

[Bolero]

Any addition to the Right side will draw the eye away from the Steps and Rocks, leave it just Moss...

 

[Dorian Fourie]

So many suggestions on what is the best choice to make.....

So I took a long hard look at the tree and decided on the following.

1. Firstly the colour of the pot is not right. In the beginning I really loved the colour but the more I look at it and the more I look at other maple forests and maple bonsai, the more I realise that the colour is wrong. What would work better is a nice blue or light green that would compliment the colour of the leaves then the orange. If it was in fall colours, the pot may work but that is for such a short period in a year that a change will have to happen.

2. The depth and width of the pot.... It has to be shallower and it needs to be narrower on the sides. My forest is still young and needs to mature so maybe in a few years this current size pot will work.

So what have I decided to do to move forwards. I am not going to repot now and will leave it till Spring 2017. The pot will have to stay till then and it will give me enough time to start looking for a better replacement.

I decided to put in one of the rocks and see how the feeling gets me of the rock being in place. I took rock 3.1 solely because of the amount of crevices and movement that it had.


I made an area for it to fit into making sure that it was far enough back and to the center as possible.


This would be the basic position of the rock.


I had to make sure that the rock was positioned correctly. That meant filling up areas with soil so that the rock could not move around once pushed into the soil.


Once the rock was in place, I filled up the areas with soil and then started putting the moss down.


This is how it looks from the front after the rock and moss had been put in.