What’s best at this point?

[Bonds Guy]

Back in May I tried to pin this trident maple to a wooden board. BIG MISTAKE!! I’m not sure whether it was the concaved board, slight rusty nail, or exposure of roots to air for extended time period, but this maple went from full of life to damn near dead.

Anyhoo, I noticed the trunk didn’t have that dead color so I sat it in shade. Yesterday, I spotted some new leaves growing. So it seems this guy isn’t ready to become compost yet. The leaves are slightly bigger than the pic now, but I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to place this maple in a sunny area just yet. Any advice would be appreciated.

Also I would like to know do maples like 9+ hrs of full sun? My other trident is growing, but it seems rather slow.

 

[AZbonsai]

You kinda put the cart before the horse on that one. Your tree needs to grow more before you start doing work like that with the roots. Stick it in the ground if possible you have a long way to go before your tree is ready for a pot. I would think maple could handle full sun but maybe a more experienced person in your zone can pipe in. Good luck with your tree. Welcome to Bnut

 

[Potawatomi13]

Personally question if nail split base and broke cambium contact to roots. Nail rusts in short order anyway so is non issue.

 

[Bonds Guy]

You kinda put the cart before the horse on that one. Your tree needs to grow more before you start doing work like that with the roots. Stick it in the ground if possible you have a long way to go before your tree is ready for a pot. I would think maple could handle full sun but maybe a more experienced person in your zone can pipe in. Good luck with your tree. Welcome to Bnut

Initially I was just going to grow the trunk, but I read somewhere on here that it takes a long while to get nice nebari. So I thought why not kill two birds with one stone

 

[0soyoung]

Initially I was just going to grow the trunk, but I read somewhere on here that it takes a long while to get nice nebari. So I thought why not kill two birds with one stone

Or kill one tree with two.

I've used screws trying to do what you did on saplings of similar size. Trees compartmentalize damage (CODIT); in this case, the xylem near the screw gets clogged. The trouble in my case was there wasn't any unclogged xylem left - in effect, it cut off the roots and mine died. It isn't a problem with thicker stems - something like 2x or more the size of what you've got.

Being screwed to a board is not necessary to make nice nebari. One can generally do it by just removing downward growing roots and arranging the rest radially when repotting every year or two. The thing with the board is part of the reputed 'Ebihara method' for making 'pancake nebari'. I'm still a skeptic but have several trees screwed to boards. One needs to try these things. Just finding things out is part of the fun.

 

[AZbonsai]

You can also just put a piece of tile in your pot and put the plant on top of it. I think @Smoke just puts the tree right on the bottom of the pot. Many believe whats under the soil is as important as whats above, and I agree, so it is critical to have a good strong healthy root system to support growth on top.

 

[Saddler]

You kinda put the cart before the horse on that one. Your tree needs to grow more before you start doing work like that with the roots. Stick it in the ground if possible you have a long way to go before your tree is ready for a pot. I would think maple could handle full sun but maybe a more experienced person in your zone can pipe in. Good luck with your tree. Welcome to Bnut

I don’t think it is ever too early to be developing the roots. I’ve never once said “I should have waited to develop the roots” but I have said a few time “I wish I started on the roots earlier”. Assuming healthy tree, etc.

I’ve tried most, if not all of the techniques I have come across and the best one so far is just planting it really low in the pot. They are always the most vigorous growing, least amount of work to pot and tolerate those extra hours of not being watered on a hot day the best. Using a board is for me, much more useful to adjust the plane of the roots when I want to change the angle of the tree more then a little.

Your soil looks pretty rich and might be holding too much water? I think your tree will spring back with the proper care. I’ve had a few tridents like yours that came back to being healthy. Good luck.