Trident Maple

Smoke

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In the last two years this tree has had massive amounts of root work done to it. In fact this recent shot today shows one of the scars on the front of the trunk at the base where one of the large roots was taken off. Two more were also removed during that time. This year another large root was taken off and sealed. The real nebari is just under the surface of the soil. Two of the scars are completely healed, though the large scar will take some years to go.

Next year will be a real turning point in the repot. The tree will be lifted an additional 1/2 inch to expose the rootage. It should be a much better tree. I really liked the tree before I cut the roots as it showed quite a flare before removal of those large roots. The problem was that they were starting to look like a claw and that would be bad news.
 

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Smoke

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Here are some pics of the removal of those large roots.

The pic with the trimmed root pad is from this year after removeing that last large root that was directly in front of the tree. It now resides in a 20% larger pot cusom built by Jim Barrett.
 

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Hey Smoke,

Nice work down there. It looks like the right call. I would have been more likely to leave those large roots cuz I am chicken. You made the right call and I think you will have a much better Nebari. I just learned allot with this last post, thanx.

This is one of the best maples I have ever seen.

Good Job

btw I noticed you did it in full leaf, interesting.
 

kytombonsai

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Smoke,

Nice looking Trident. It is very easy to graft on seedlings where you have openings in the nebari. Get some 2 year old seedlings and graft into the opening and let the seedlings grow wild for about 2 years. After this time the roots should have fused to the trunk.

Tom
 

Treebeard

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Post number 22 will go into my bookmarks folder, thanks for the photos of this process.

Chris.
 

Smoke

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Hey Smoke,

Nice work down there. It looks like the right call. I would have been more likely to leave those large roots cuz I am chicken. You made the right call and I think you will have a much better Nebari. I just learned allot with this last post, thanx.

This is one of the best maples I have ever seen.

Good Job

btw I noticed you did it in full leaf, interesting.

Not done in full leaf. Done in February while dormant.
 

Smoke

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Hey Al, what is the dealio on this tree today?

Call me tomorrow at 3pm and you can come by. I have two trees to prune. This trident and the Chokkan needle juniper.

be there or be square....al
 

Smoke

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The tree repotted today. This tree was able to be raised another 1/4 inch in the pot. The nebari is coming along though I wish it would go faster. I will continue to raise the tree a little each year. Next year will probably be the limit, as the root pad is very thin.
 

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davetree

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The branching has really come along nicely. How long do you think it will take the roots to bulk up ?
 

Jason

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Very nice tree. I'm trying to understand the necessity of removing the roots though. Didn't they just contribute to overall trunk flare and the look of maturity. Some of the nicest tridents I've seen have huge areas of fused roots. Can they ever be partially removed? It seems like developing another root with the accompanying flare would take eons. I know we want balance with the roots and we want to encourage feeder roots but would have it been wrong to leave the root there or just reduce it's length visually (by placement in the pot or encouraging feeder roots at it's middle? You obviously know what your doing... so educate me.
 

Smoke

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Very nice tree. I'm trying to understand the necessity of removing the roots though. Didn't they just contribute to overall trunk flare and the look of maturity. Some of the nicest tridents I've seen have huge areas of fused roots. Can they ever be partially removed? It seems like developing another root with the accompanying flare would take eons. I know we want balance with the roots and we want to encourage feeder roots but would have it been wrong to leave the root there or just reduce it's length visually (by placement in the pot or encouraging feeder roots at it's middle? You obviously know what your doing... so educate me.

Well...without seeing the what under the soil at my home it is very hard to explain. First of all the roots that I cut off were roots that while being very old, were part of the original roots that came out during the layer. Thats right I said layer. These tridents were grown on a big parent tree and then cut off later as bonsai ready for sale. the roots were high up on the trunk compared with the bottom of the cut. It required a deeper pot than I wanted and so I decided to remove the roots and plant the tree at the correct height.

Yes while taking off the large roots may have seemed a bad thing to do for most, I understand that in the long run a better tree will develop because the roots will radiate from the same level all the way around the trunk. Before they were at differing levels which made it hard to tell in a picture where the nebari was. Actually it was buried. Keep in mind that the root on the far right that is difficult to tell but can be seen in one of the shots came off the trunk and went straight down. It added girth but actually was away from the trunk by almost 1/2 an inch which when seen in person was very noticable. Pictures hide a lot, so yes you have to trust me, it is the right thing to do. It will be marvelous in about 5 more years. I will be retired and by then I will be able to just sit back and enjoy it.
 
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Jason

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Thanks for the explanation. After you reiterated that is was an airlayer and I went back and looked at some of the pictures the decision makes sense. I understand you would want all the roots the be at the same level to be able to play with your pot depth. One thing that I don't agree with though is that you'll have to wait 5 years until retirement to enjoy this tree. It's a beauty right now. Guess it's all about striving for perfection.
 

Smoke

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Here is a good shot of the straight down root. When seeing the tree in person this visual just ruined the tree. By taking off just that offending root, I was still not able to lower the tree.
 

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Smoke

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Thanks for the explanation. After you reiterated that is was an airlayer and I went back and looked at some of the pictures the decision makes sense. I understand you would want all the roots the be at the same level to be able to play with your pot depth. One thing that I don't agree with though is that you'll have to wait 5 years until retirement to enjoy this tree. It's a beauty right now. Guess it's all about striving for perfection.

Right now it's all work.

Anyone that says bonsai is about relaxation is not doing serious bonsai.
 

the3rdon

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I can't get enough of this tree.. I have a nice Trident that has tons of branches and about a 4 inch trunk.. It has good taper and awesome roots, but man does yours have the best movement and taper.. I will post some pics of mine later in the week.. I don't know if I wanna start this year on it or wait one more.. it's already potted in a nice shallow pot..
 

Smoke

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Pic today. In the pic you can see the new nabari peeking out thru the moss. It is coming....s l o w l y

A shot of the tree winning second place at the National Toko Kazari Competition last year.
 

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monza

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Thanks for that. Tree looks super nice, congrats on the award.
Do you still defoliate the leaves multible times at this stage of the tree every summer? They do look very nice and compact. In general does defoliating help build nebari or would it slow that progress?
 

Smoke

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I do not defoliate this tree at all now. This is how it looks at present with 99 to 101 for 3 weeks straight now. Four weeks ago we had a stretch of 104 everyday.

I could not keep this tree without akadama with my work schedule. Watered once a day at 3:45pm daily.
 
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