Small trident maple has aerial roots

[EricInSD]

Hi,

Fairly new to bonsai and my first post here.

I received a trident maple from Brussel's Bonsai that is very small. It came in a bonsai pot and has some aerial roots that are only about 1" above the soil. I plan to prune the tree back pretty far and am considering putting it back into a growers pot. I would like some advice.

1. Should I put it back into a larger pot to gain some size? The pot it's in is pretty parge for the trunk diameter,
2. Should a trident maple have any aerial roots? I am thinking they could be made lateral
If not, do I need to ground layer it or can I just raise the soil?

The fist picture gives you an idea of size. The top of the tree is about 12" from the soil and the pot is about 10" long. The other two pics show the roots.

Thanks in advance!
Eric

 

[penumbra]

Well those are not aerial roots. They are normal roots that have been exposed over time. I am not big into tridents (yet) but I think you need to decide for yourself if they stay or go.

 

[Hack Yeah!]

Welcome to the site Eric. You don't need to worry about pruning anything until you have a size and design goal in mind. You could place the tree a little lower in the pot or as you said raise the soil at next repotting.

 

[EricInSD]

Thank you both for the feedback.

The plant doesn't need repotting so I should probably wait but I think the roots should be buried. Glad to confirm I can just cover them. I'll probably repot just so I can tease them out to.lateral before they get thicker.

Regarding my size and design goals, I honestly think a deciduous tree this small is not a good starter bonsai. I would like to think of this as a very long term tree and, as such, focus on growing the tree. How do I best thicken the trunk on a maple like this?

 

[SeanS]

How do I best thicken the trunk on a maple like this?

By letting it grow as much as possible. Growth = thickening

 

[Shibui]

How do I best thicken the trunk on a maple like this?

Depends on your definition of 'best'
Time, lots and lots of time, years of it is one of the 'best' ways to thicken a bonsai trunk because slow growth reduces all the problems associated with fast growing - scars, reverse taper, overgrown branches, etc.
The alternative is as above- growth. The more you let branches grow the thicker the trunk will become. Maximum growth will give fastest thickening but fastest is not always 'best' as above.
There's also a sliding scale between those 2 extremes of time and growth.

Everyone has to decide what balance of growth and time gives the 'best' results for them.

 

[rockm]

FWIW, as said, these aren't areal roots. They're roots that haven't been properly sorted out and made sense of for future growth. Your tree has most likely been "up potted" by simply plunking the root mass into a larger container with no attention to nebari development. That kind of treatment can generate several root layers at different height on the same trunk. Left alone, that creates a weird looking tree down the road.

The multiple levels of roots need to be dealt with sooner rather than later. Simply "letting the plant grow" without intervention, will make a bad problem even worse, as those tangled roots become thicker and harder to turn into a decent single nebari.

Come repotting time (early spring in your area) you have a decision to make... If this were mine, I'd decide which set of roots to concentrate on and remove the rest. The first group of roots are the uncovered roots which you call areal roots. You could use them as the primary scaffold for a nebari by severing the large downward growing root at the bottom of the trunk.

You could also remove all the areal roots in favor of using that large descending root-provided you dig down into the soil to find where the first lateral roots emerge on it.

 

[SeanS]

I’d ground layer the tree.

The first set of roots will be very difficult to spread out laterally without damage/snapping where they meet the trunk, and there are only a few of them spread out like wagon wheel spokes.

Using the lower roots by cutting off the high roots could result in inverse taper as the trunk will be (and already seems to be based on the photos) slightly thicker above the “aerial” roots, tapering down in thickness until it meets the lower roots.

Ground layering above the high roots should take care of both issues and will give you a fresh set of roots to start building a nebari from

 

[Michael P]

Since you can't see the roots below the surface of the soil now you will to examine the root system, correct problems, then re-pot. by doing that you can tell what course of action will produce the best long term results. This can be tricky for a beginner--it certainly was for me! If you have a local club or know an experienced bonsai grower, ask them for help

 

[mikeTF]

As early in the process as you are, I would consider a grow pot, ground layering with either a washer or sheet metal. Selecting a trunk line, promoting apical growth to thicken your trunk for taper etc.

 

[EricInSD]

Thanks all for the feedback (I think I only got a notice for the first two responses so hadnt seen all this!). You've all confirmed my thinking and reminded me of the basics (if you want to thicken it just let it grow - irrespective of species!)

I think I will put it in a growers pot. The only question I haven't resolved it whether I need to ground layer it or If the top roots can be used for a new nebari...

I guess I'll have to see what it looks like during repotting.