NaoTK building a broad canopy trident from old stock

[NaoTK]

This is my favorite trident that I got in 2019 from Roger Case, who had it in New Mexico but it was field grown in Georgia. It is an old tree but lacked a concrete design and needed TLC.

Spring 2020. The roots need a lot of work. There are too many leaders and the branches are leggy and without taper. The bark is nice and old and the tree is healthy. Many chops were made in the field that are not quite healed.


Gradually reducing the roots...


Lots of fines. This tree could go into a 1" deep tray eventually.


Spring 2021. You can see the roots have come a long way in very short time. Adding grafts to fill gaps. Adding tons of thread grafts to fill gaps in canopy. During 2020 summer I removed some major leaders creating that huge scar on the right and cleaned up this giant armpit scar. This was later filled with concrete.

The branches all needed more taper, so the tree was allowed to grow freely without touching it for 18 months. The thread grafts all took and were severed.


November 2022 after a light snow and cut back. This is now the front. The branch taper is improved and I will continue to grow and chop to improve taper. Looking forward to repotting in spring.


more planned thread grafts next year. The goal is to have a very dense ball of branches with a rounded canopy.

 

[BobbyLane]

Nice clear vision, I like the material. Nice to see there are still some naked images left, I was beginning to think everybody had wrapped them all in cotton wool for the winter!

 

[NaoTK]

Spring 2023 repot:

Roots have come a long way. Still, I did 12 root thread grafts. I also threaded 3 branches with cuttings from this same tree of course.



The final pot will be smaller and shallower than this oversized one

 

[BobbyLane]

Going well, if it was mine I would definitely make a V cut at the top of the stump and maybe extend it downwards. I understand that isnt everybodies cup of tea. I think it suits the material, since the top of the stump is quite heavy and the V reduces some volume.

 

[BobbyLane]

Here's an Elm, Will baddely did a V cut on it a few years ago, you can hardly tell it was carved, its aged well. and is a feature of a unique tree. just looks like a trunk that has split into two now and its created taper. that was the goal.

 

[NaoTK]

Here's an Elm, Will baddely did a V cut on it a few years ago, you can hardly tell it was carved, its aged well. and is a feature of a unique tree. just looks like a trunk that has split into two now and its created taper. that was the goal.
View attachment 477093

The taper does bother me on my tree and cutting a notch was something I was considering. Your example is valuable for me to see how it might turn out.
I think I might do it later this summer

 

[rustygarden]

Spring 2023 repot:

Roots have come a long way. Still, I did 12 root thread grafts. I also threaded 3 branches with cuttings from this same tree of course.

View attachment 477049View attachment 477047

The final pot will be smaller and shallower than this oversized one
View attachment 477050

Looking good .

 

[Gabler]

Going well, if it was mine I would definitely make a V cut at the top of the stump and maybe extend it downwards. I understand that isnt everybodies cup of tea. I think it suits the material, since the top of the stump is quite heavy and the V reduces some volume.

A counterpoint: I think this is a rare example of a deciduous tree with inverse taper that looks good, and cutting a V into the tree would destroy what makes it unique.

 

[BobbyLane]

I dont think its unique, its just a stump, you can find many that look like this tbf. It can be much better imo and much more interesting.

This Beech stump had inverse taper and was pretty ordinary until the split.
Without a split, the op's tree just continues to bulge at that point where all the branches meet. we are thinking not only for the now but for the future, when such decisions are made.

 

[BobbyLane]

The taper does bother me on my tree and cutting a notch was something I was considering. Your example is valuable for me to see how it might turn out.
I think I might do it later this summer

Was only a suggestion, you could carry on and just work on getting the base wider over time. but the split doesnt have to be nothing major like what I did above, it could be just a narrow V.

 

[BobbyLane]

Another example where I thought the split was warranted. Just to give the op some food for thought. There has to be improvement when making drastic decisions, if you cant see an improvement then stick with your original plan.
you can create a V on a virtual or with foil to see how things can look, this is what I do.

 

[NaoTK]

I think it helps a lot.


Here I am taking it too far just to see. It becomes like a multi-trunk rather than a broom

 

[BobbyLane]

It would still be an informal broom...
Heres a more subtle V i did on a maple, that could work, you see how the work reduces the heavyness of the bulging area, but then tidied up until you can hardly see what was done

Acer Katsura project#1

From a nursery tree. again this one picked out for its exceptionally good roots that will only improve. tree has a good, solid trunk. i like the branch structure on this one, still very raw, but i see a very natural image down the line 20190320_204135 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr 20190320_160818 by...

www.bonsainut.com

 

[BobbyLane]

Came across an old elm with an almost identical trunk to yours

Oak style-Chinese Elm

Hi all, here is a little Ulmus parvifolia ive been working on a couple seasons, well it spent just over a season in the ground.. I got it like this IMAG1564 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr IMAG1569 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr was never entirely happy with it and cut it back IMAG1776 by Bobby Lane, on...

www.bonsainut.com