TRIPLE TRUNK ARAKAWA

[MACH5]

Bought this arakawa a couple of years back at a highly reduced price. The tree, although it has great potential, it suffered heavy dieback from lack of water. Many developed branches withered specially on the main trunk leaving it almost bare. And so, the rebuilding process begins as in many of my other projects.

Below the tree a year after purchase in January 2025. It was let grow unchecked for an entire season. Heavy fertilizing and general good care brought life back to it.






Several thread grafts were done in January 2025. This is perfect time to do such grafts while buds are still small and tight to the twigs. The photo below was taken in late March when the buds began to open. A few days earlier it was repotted using a production grade Japanese pot for the time being.










The tree today after further work. Taking shape and easy to see its potential. All initial grafts took except for one which broke off on its own during the growing season. The last graft (about two thirds up the main trunk) just needs a bit more time. And today I redid another graft (top main apex) to replace the one that had broken off.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Another fun project Serg. This has potential to be a good MACH5 bonsai.

For purposes of discussion…was it the price, or something else that drew you to this one?

 

[MACH5]

Another fun project Serg. This has potential to be a good MACH5 bonsai.

For purposes of discussion…was it the price, or something else that drew you to this one?

Hey Bri, thanks! Price was good. But better still was its potential. Even if price is right, I don't think I'd go for material that holds little promise or will take a generation to develop or fix.

And you know I am sucker for multi-trunk trees!

Wishing you and fam a happy and healthy New Year!

 

[misfit11]

Cool tree, Sergio. I agree that this tree has a lot of potential. I'm sure you will maximize it. The base is very nice, the taper is good, and the bark quality is fabulous. I also love that it's a multi-trunk tree. Single trunks are a dime a dozen and can often be boring, IMO.

I'm guessing that the sub trunks were added later. They are also very similar in thickness. Do you think you will allow the middle one to thicken a bit more to differentiate the two?

 

[MACH5]

Cool tree, Sergio. I agree that this tree has a lot of potential. I'm sure you will maximize it. The base is very nice, the taper is good, and the bark quality is fabulous. I also love that it's a multi-trunk tree. Single trunks are a dime a dozen and can often be boring, IMO.

I'm guessing that the sub trunks were added later. They are also very similar in thickness. Do you think you will allow the middle one to thicken a bit more to differentiate the two?

My guess is that yes the smaller trunks were added later by grafting? And yes, I agree they are pretty much same thickness so definitely one of the improvements is thickening the middle one. You can see that they are also beginning to bark up now.

One very interesting, if fascinating aspect about this tree is that it does back bud from its heavily plated bark. Much to my surprise a few tiny buds appeared along the main trunk. A couple on good locations the rest unfortunately were not.

 

[Nybonsai12]

Lock in, This one will be fun to watch!

I’m sure this tree looked across the bench at your other arakawa and had a big sigh of relief knowing it was in good hands

 

[MrBonsai19]

Following with interest ! !!!

The bark has a quality to it that seems slightly off from the usual texture I see from Arakawa. It's a bit creamier in color and the surface texture of the individual plates is a bit smoother than I would expect. Is that just my imagination? Well whether it is a special brand of Arakawa or not I do love the shape of the tree and its potential.

Really curious how you will create synergy between the three trunks given that each one offers distinct degrees and shape of movement (very straight, curvy in the upper half, curvy from the base). Will you try to merge the overall character of the movement with branches that create a commonality or leave each trunk to present its own version of a maple?

 

[MACH5]

Following with interest ! !!!

The bark has a quality to it that seems slightly off from the usual texture I see from Arakawa. It's a bit creamier in color and the surface texture of the individual plates is a bit smoother than I would expect. Is that just my imagination? Well whether it is a special brand of Arakawa or not I do love the shape of the tree and its potential.

Really curious how you will create synergy between the three trunks given that each one offers distinct degrees and shape of movement (very straight, curvy in the upper half, curvy from the base). Will you try to merge the overall character of the movement with branches that create a commonality or leave each trunk to present its own version of a maple?

Possible that it is a hybrid with rough bark. One clue may be that it buds on plated bark which is highly unlikely on "true" arakawa. A nice feature to be sure!

Yes, I think the harmony between all the trunks will come from the branch relationships with each other. I believe that will bring it all together as a cohesive design. The story that this trio tells is consistent with what happens in nature. The oldest trunk losing some of its once subtle movement as it grew thicker and larger while the younger and much thinner ones show more of it.