An unusual Trident

[markyscott]

New grafts - make a V cut into the trunk with a sharp knife.



Cut the side of the approach graft facing the trunk into a V shape also, to fit into the cut. Then hold the graft into place win tacks and cover with cut paste.




Assuming these take, all the branches are in place for the final plan. Ready for spring!




Scott

 

[thumblessprimate1]

Old grafts taking well. See the bud at the base of the graft? This is likely the future of the branch - it's important to position the graft so that a node is close to the point where the graft exits the branch so you have these options.

Scott

But not too close. I've had some where the healing tissue enveloped the buds.

 

[markyscott]

Two years of development.

2014


2015


2016


Scott

 

[markyscott]

Houston has a long growing season. It's the beginning of April and the shoots are already over a foot long. I've been fertilizing with discipline ever since the buds began to swell - solid fertilizer on top of the soil so it gets a bit with every watering and liquid fertilizer every weekend. I alternate between fish emulsion and hosta grow. I have to admit liking the fish emulsion better - it smells like something I might like if I were a tree.

Anyway - time to go to work. This is a big job - generally a day or so of wiring and pruning when I work it. Here's the process:

1. Let the shoots extend strongly
2. Before the shoots lignify, wire
3. While wiring, select branches, remove leaves that shade interior growth, and cut back branches that are thick enough
4. Let grow until the wire starts to cut in, then remove the wire
5. Repeat (the more the better - I usually can get in 3 growth cycles a year)

Here's the tree at the beginning of work.



If I just cut back now, the wood would lignify and the branches would be stick straight. You can wire in winter, but then the wood is lignified and you can't put the branches in place nearly as easily as you can with green wood. So I wire now. A couple of things to do as you wire:

On growing shoots, remove the old leaves close to the trunk, but leave the old leaves at the end of the branch alone. The idea is to let light into the canopy to keep the interior growth healthy. So remove the old leaves on strong shoots, but leave the weak interior growth alone - don't cut it off or remove any leaves.


Cut off any downward-facing shoots. But keep the upward growth. Then wire it down.


It looks a bit weird at first, but branches are being built - here's the idea:

 

[markyscott]

As you wire you can cut back, but you don't need to remove all of the growing tips. If you want to thicken a branch, let the branch extend and grow long - just wire the branch in place and cut back. If the branch is thick enough and you're trying to build secondary or tertiary ramification, go ahead and cut back to a few leaves. When new shoots appear closer to the trunk or main branch, you can cut back. To decide which shoots to let go, think about the branch structure - each branc shoul have a leader, side branches and a top branch. The leader should be thicker. The side branches closer to the trunk should be thicker than the side branches at the end. Sometimes it helps to get under the tree and look at the branch structure as you build it to help you make decisions. It's really beautiful under there anyway and a perspective we don't always take the time to appreciate:



It'll also let you know if you've removed enough leaves. Still looks pretty dense - I think I'll have to pull some more tomorrow.

 

[markyscott]

Two weeks of healthy growth and the wire can begin to bite. You have to watch it like a hawk this time of year.


Check often and carefully and remove the wire as needed when it starts to cut. The branch will take shape quickly. This one is ok now, but next week it may not be.

New grafts will callous quickly. Six weeks since the grafts were completed, a healthy callous has closed the wound.

 

[markyscott]

Old grafts have forgotten that they were once attached to a different part of the tree and are growing rapidly.


But those branches need girth. So let them extend. You want strong growth, big leaves and long internodes. It's OK this is a sacrifice branch. We'll cut back and build branch ramification later. For now we just want growth. So make sure it gets plenty of sun and do not, under any circumstances, cut that growing tip.



18" of extension in just a few weeks. Let it continue to lengthen until it gets the thickness you want. And then cut back. If it takes 6' it takes 6'. The 4" leaves are great. It's a sign that the branch is strong - notice that the longer the branch grows, the more vigorous it gets. Cut it, and the growth will stop.

 

[markyscott]

Coming along.

 

[Stickroot]

I would love to layer the top off this fella and have this..... And a bonus tree! let it grow out about three feet loooong!
Maybe, call me crazy, stupid, just seeing it.

 

[markyscott]

I would love to layer the top off this fella and have this..... And a bonus tree!View attachment 101996 let it grow out about three feet loooong!
Maybe, call me crazy, stupid, just seeing it.

I know - it's been suggested before. But if I do I'll end up with a normal semi-cascade and a normal informal upright. The upright will have little movement or taper. I'll lose what makes this tree special and different. It's not to everyone's taste, but it will be a good tree in the end and the "conversation branch" will be what makes it unique.

People will love it or they will hate it, but they will notice.

 

[Don Blackmond]

acer buergerianum erectus

 

[markyscott]

acer buergerianum erectus

See? Don has noticed.

 

[Adair M]

Scott, your documentation of trident branch building is excellent!

 

[thumblessprimate1]

If it keeps up, we'll have Acer buergerianum 'Longissimus maximus'.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, I love your documentation and info in all your threads. I can apply this to my maples and other deciduous.

 

[Nybonsai12]

Great explanation, instruction and use of pictures in this thread. Thanks for sharing.

 

[markyscott]

Updating the Acer erectus thread (I wish Don would have come up with that before I named this thread). Fall work is done any time after the leaves have dropped before the spring push (so somewhere between January 5 and January 15th here on the Gulf Coast). It comprises cut back and bark cleanup on a trident. You can also do the soji (clean up the soil surface) if you're not planning on repotting this season. So first the bark cleanup. I've posted on this before, but mature tridents will flake off chunks of bark that can be removed, exposing the orange juvenile bark underneath. Like this:



Scott

 

[markyscott]

The reason for doing this is more than just asthetic. Although the texture and blotchy orange and gray bark looks nice, underneath those innocuous flakes are where insect eggs and fungal spores can be harbored. If you do a dormant spray (as I do), exposing these areas will make the spray more effective.

Scott

 

[markyscott]

The next bit of fall work is the cut back. It's extremely important. With the cut back we're trying to do a few things:

1) create branch structure
2) create taper
3) create movement
4) and cut back heavy branches to softer growth

All of these steps we've talked about hang together. In order to do the fall cut back we have to have something to cut back to. How do we do that? Well, we do the spring work which alllows light and air into the interior of the plant. This keeps the interior growth healthy, enabling the fall work we're about to do. All the steps are important.

Here are some points to keep in mind:

1. Branch structure is built from the inside out. That means we cut back hard and then let it grow. When it grows it gets healthy and strong. Then we cut back again creating primary ramification. Then we let it grow again. Then cut back again creating tertiary ramification. And so on.
2. The thickness of the leader should decrease from the trunk toward the end of the branch. The leader should be the longest and thickest. The side branches should be thinner and they also should have taper from the leader out to the end of the branch.

Consider this branch:


What are the choices?

 

[markyscott]

We could cut here:



This is a totally valid choice. The interior branch is strong - it wouldn't miss a beat. And it would create taper, one of the goals of the cut back.

 

[markyscott]

Alternatively we could cut here:



It would create taper on the side branch and make the side branch shorter than the leader (the branch in the center).

There are still a couple of problems with the structure on this branch. First the branch closer to the interior is the same thickness as the side branch near the apex. And the side branch near the apex is thicker than the leader. So in the spring I'll let the leader and the first branch extend and pinch back the side branch next to the leader more regularly.