Help with trident maple forest

[Thesonoflars]

Any suggestions on how I can develop this new forest? How can I encourage lower branching? What is the best time to do work on these as far as pruning, etc.? They are fairly established and getting new growth, mostly at the top and seem healthy enough. I want to thicken the trunks and get some lower branching.
Thanks to all. I am in zone 4, New York.

 

[Michael P]

Welcome to bonsai!

Long ago I did a similar trident forest in a class, with the same type of saplings. I tried for over a decade to thicken trunks and encourage lower branches. It didn't work. So now I am doing what I think you should do: plant the forest in huge pot (or grow bed), let it grow wildly for a year or several until the trunks are thick enough at the base. Then do a major cut-back (chop) and develop new trunks and branches. If I had done this to start with, I would have saved 10 years.

Your trees are also pretty evenly spaced. When you move them into that big pot, you could rearrange them so that some trees are much closer than others.

 

[Rid]

next time around, plant an odd number of trees, and trees of different sizes.

 

[Michael P]

I count 5 trees, with the 3 in the back being somewhat smaller. More size difference would be better.

 

[Thesonoflars]

Thanks!
So you are saying don't do any other work on these other than water, fertilize, and overwinter for the next couple of years?
OK.
Yes, there are 5 trees. When I am ready to put back in a pot, I can add more trees, right?

 

[Michael P]

Basically, yes. They are in a fairly large pot now, but you could go a lot bigger next year. And yes, you can add more trees. Start collecting more trees now, you can develop them in their own pots. After all the trees are large enough and you have chopped them several time, they can go back into a small pot. Once trees go into a small pot, the trunks do not thicken much, but you can work on fine branch structure.

 

[Thesonoflars]

Good idea. Thanks for the help!

 

[M. Frary]

I am in zone 4

I wouldn't worry about any training at all right now.
You're going to need to learn how to keep these alive in the winter being from out of your zone.
Next spring will tell.