Trident Maple (ROR Progression)

[Pj86]

I will be documenting my Trident Maple ROR progression.



I have been developing this ROR trident maple since 2016. When I obtained it it was a small 1-2 year old seedling. I had already gone to a stone and gravel store and hand selected 5 large red lava rocks for the purpose of using them in future ROR plantings. I wrapped the seedling with simple silicone pipe tape to the rock and then used a 5 gallon pot to grow it out. Each following year, the roots would be examined, adjusted and the tree would be potted up again. During the 2020 repot I felt the roots had grown to the proportions and movement that I had envisioned, so it was decided it would go to a training pot for the remainder of 2020.

This year it has been repotted in a custom bonsai pot and most likely will be in this pot for the foreseeable future. The next 5-6 years I will be building the canopy which hopefully will complement the roots and current movement.

 

[BonsaiGnome]

nice progression

 

[HENDO]

Very nice progression, cool roots - looking forward to seeing 2022!

 

[Yamabudoudanshi]

Kind of looks like a child on Santa's lap to me.

Great roots.

 

[Shibui]

Good selection of tree for ROR. Much more believable than a straight trunk and it sits well on the stone so good lines right from pot through to apex.
Roots are developing well.

Good luck with developing the branching and new apex.

 

[Juanmi]

It looks great! Looking forwad to see more

 

[AlainK]

The top still needs a lot of work but the roots spreading on the rock looks so good I've no doubt it will be a top shelf bonsai in a few years.

 

[jeef16]

I will be documenting my Trident Maple ROR progression.

View attachment 363144

I have been developing this ROR trident maple since 2016. When I obtained it it was a small 1-2 year old seedling. I had already gone to a stone and gravel store and hand selected 5 large red lava rocks for the purpose of using them in future ROR plantings. I wrapped the seedling with simple silicone pipe tape to the rock and then used a 5 gallon pot to grow it out. Each following year, the roots would be examined, adjusted and the tree would be potted up again. During the 2020 repot I felt the roots had grown to the proportions and movement that I had envisioned, so it was decided it would go to a training pot for the remainder of 2020.

This year it has been repotted in a custom bonsai pot and most likely will be in this pot for the foreseeable future. The next 5-6 years I will be building the canopy which hopefully will complement the roots and current movement.

View attachment 363138

the money shot right there

 

[Pj86]

Spring push photo. A few weeks prior, I had selected the buds that I wanted to extent this season to start developing the canopy. Left the sacrificial branch in hope that it would cause the branches for the future apex to have shorter internodes and thicken the leading branch. It looks like it is accomplishing it.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Nice progress so far!

 

[Pj86]

Trident maples move resources quickly. First partial defoliation and secondary branch positioning. Maybe I’ll get 3 partial defoliations per year.






Pushing the asymmetric design to the left. Next steps, increase ramification and foliar mass to increase branch thickness.

 

[SeanS]

Amazing job so far. Can’t wait to start 8 trident RORs this spring

 

[Pj86]

Fall pruning and wiring. Pushing the design to the left. Some branches were kept longer to thicken during next years growing season. Most structural branches are in their final place. Next year I plan to allow some branches to thicken more. 2 branches will begin their secondary refinement. By the end of next year I hope to transition all branches to secondary structure refinement.


Fall color

Branch structure before styling and pruning

Completion of Fall work

 

[Pj86]

Spring push! Marked the branches that I will be shortening after post flush hardening. Going to try to get 3 maybe 4 growths this season.

 

[JeffS73]

You've got the root/rock balance really nice. How do you manage growing the top and keeping the roots in proportion?

 

[AlainK]

A personal opinion : I would cut much more of the top branches instead of wiring them into curves.

But the roots are really great, and all in all, it's a very nice tree.

 

[Pj86]

You've got the root/rock balance really nice. How do you manage growing the top and keeping the roots in proportion?

Thanks. I repotted every year, and adjusted roots as needed. Helped a lot to decide when I was satisfied with the roots.

A personal opinion : I would cut much more of the top branches instead of wiring them into curves.

But the roots are really great, and all in all, it's a very nice tree.

Branches will be shortened right after post flush hardening.

 

[Pj86]

Spring 2022. Crazy how tridents push growth. Went ahead and did its first pruning and partial defoliation. Going to follow with a second and potentially a third partial defoliation this season.

 

[Pj86]

Repotted this trident into a shallower Japanese pot. I’m transitioning it to refinement and did its first energy balance pruning. Planning on doing partial defoliation in a month or two.

Prior to pruning

After energy balance pruning.

 

[Pj86]

It was exciting to work with you @MACH5 this past weekend at the Bonsai on the Bayou. Thank you for the sketch and ideas. Planning on the next steps for this tree. A angle change and reduction of foliage to bring to focus the exposed roots.