Bonsai Tonight

An educational website about bonsai development

Pruning a field-grown trident maple

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When I picked up a field-grown maple to work on a few days ago, I had no idea what the trunk and branches looked like. The tree had grown almost four feet since last year and the foliage was too dense to see through.

Trident maple

Trident maple

This made pruning difficult as I had to make cuts in order to see which cuts to make. When I could finally see what was going on, the tree looked quite different!

After cutback

After cutback – see “Developing a field-grown trident maple” for details about pruning maple pre-bonsai

I find this tree interesting as it’s not yet clear where the front will be. Although I like the front shown in “View 1” below, there are several options that could work.

To provide a better idea of what the tree looks like from different angles, here are six different views of the trunk. Have any favorites?

View 1

View 1

View 2

View 2

View 3

View 3

View 4

View 4

View 5

View 5

View 6

View 6

I’ll look to prune the tree again and select a new leader in fall. At this point I’m not sure how large the tree will eventually become, but as long as the movement is interesting, I plan to increase the size of the trunk over the next few years.

Bonsai for Sale in the SF Bay Area

Danny Powell has prepared a catalog of sales trees available in the San Francisco Bay Area. The catalog features conifers, including some collected junipers, and a mix of deciduous species. You can check it out here.

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Comments

  1. i like view #3 ….best view of nebari… appears to lean foward difficult to judge using just photo…

    • Thanks, Bill! Yes, the apex comes forward on three, but this can be reduced or extended to one side or the other as the apex continues to develop.

  2. I like view 2 best as it has the most changes in direction (I count five already). You will need a branch on the left to my eye.

    View 1 has some inverse taper.

    View 4 shows all the scars front and center, even though they are healed over.

    View 5 has the same number of change in direction but a branch is coming straight towards the viewer.

    View 3 and 6 have little movement and all the branches on one side as a result.

    Great little tree!

    • Thanks Lars! The tree will definitely need a branch on the left side if we go with view 2, and yes, 1 has some inverse taper – I’ll be curious if that changes (for good or bad) over time.

  3. Jonas, I prefer views 2 and 5. I haven’t looked at anyone’s comments yet that might influence my decision, lol. After I post this, then I’ll look and see what others think! 🙂

    • Thanks Lani – on view 5 the movement is good but the apex grows toward the back. This is workable if I start training a new apex to one side or the other. Two could work as is.

    • Great question David! I knew the tree needed some work near the apex and if I waited until fall I’d have to leave stubs on the big cuts. By cutting now, I can start the healing process on the larger cuts and stimulate some new branches that can be wired into place in fall.

  6. That trunk looks very promising already!
    Are you planning to put that tree back into the ground in the next few years or will it stay in the growbox and later training pot from now on?

    • Thanks, Jef! I plan to keep it in the box as I don’t have a good spot to put it in the ground. The process is slower but easier to control this way.

    • Thanks Sergio! That would be a super way to create two trees! I have another maple that’s a candidate for the same procedure – I’ll take a close look at the layering option next spring!

  8. Hi.
    I like nº6 but with changes.

    – Prune the 2nd branch
    -Air Layer the apex. The 3rd branch on the left will be the new apex
    -Graft the 2nd brach on the right, just below the scar
    -Rotate the tree to the right a bit.
    I´m trying to put an image but I cannot

  9. I prefer 4 and 1 in that order. 3 and 6 are too one sided for my taste. 2 and 5 are possibilities if the planting angle can change enough. Cutting any view back from the top leaves an abrupt change in taper that will have to be disguised.

    • Thanks Zack – 4 and 1 are roughly opposite each other and they provide good distribution of branches and movement in the trunk. Instead of disguising any changes an taper, I’d plan to grow the tree out enough for the taper to become more gradual.