Trident Chop Advice : This one got away from me a little

[hemmy]

Here's a trident that's been in the ground since spring 2014. I was envisioning a smaller tree (2-3" dia) with a more naturalistic canopy, but it's really starting to get top heavy where all the branches join. I probably should have removed a branch or 2 last year but was getting greedy on girth. Below are pics with my rough vision and with 2 different ideas on which branches to keep. The leafless pic is from Jan '16. I may also have to lift it in spring next year, if I lose the growing spot. I'm also wondering if I should chop the smaller front (orange branch) now to take advantage of remaining summer growth to close the wound. I still have a few months of grow season. I've marked chops above buds.

Any advice, suggestions, or general troll-iness accepted!

Thanks!

 

[hemmy]

Leafy virts, with apologies to actual artists. These were done on a small screen with sausage fingers.

 

[hemmy]

Here's the tree in March 2014 when I pried it away from Muranka's nursery for way too cheap.

 

[sorce]

I like the first leafless virt way better than the broccoli!

Sorce

 

[hemmy]

Put another way, which branches would YOU keep?

 

[Craigm]

@hemmy , I like your ideas. The main thing to consider is wounds on your Trident trunk,will u want to carve or
heal the wounds over clean for a solid looking Trident.
From here it depends if you want to alter the direction of the Trunkline or go ahead with your gut feeling and your virt.
Either way it'll need a couple of major decisions on removal and then thinking about healing the wounds while in ground.
Look forward to what you do,

Craig

 

[Adair M]

Put another way, which branches would YOU keep?

You're not going to like what I have to say:

I would just start over completely with a new tree.

All those branches are really heavy, and if the cut them off, they'll have big scars to callous over. And once they do, you'll have to graft to put branches there since callous tissue has no buds.
And to get enough growth to induce callous tissue to grow means you'll have to grow another big sacrifice branch, which means you'll have another large wound to heal over...

Fixing all this would take longer than starting over!

Get another tree to grow in the ground, and don't neglect it. Prune it when it needs to be pruned. Meanwhile, you can do whatever you want to this first tree... In two years compare the two.

 

[PeaceLoveBonsai]

Prune it when it needs to be pruned.

I have a few in the ground at the moment...never thought about them growing too big! Are you aware of some resources around pruning while in the ground so I don't encounter the same issues?

 

[Adair M]

I have a few in the ground at the moment...never thought about them growing too big! Are you aware of some resources around pruning while in the ground so I don't encounter the same issues?

Look at BVF's blog. Www.nebaribonsai.com

Basically, let them grow out, then cut back before they get huge. You might want to let one central leader grow to be the main trunk line. Even then, you need to do "something" to make sure it has some movement.

Ground growing also can produce those really strong oversized roots. Which make poor nebari.

I'm really not a trident maple guy. They're too much work! I'm lazy.

But the best way to grow them is the Ebihara method in a grow box on a board.

See MarkyScott 's thread "Ebihara maples".

 

[PeaceLoveBonsai]

Thanks @Adair M !

 

[hemmy]

You're not going to like what I have to say:

I would just start over completely with a new tree.

You're right, I don't like that!

Actually, thank you for your candor. I guess I should have trimmed the water sprout branches after the first year. I was just amazed how fast it grew in 1 year in the ground.