Wound healing on trident maple

[Joe Dupre']

I'm thinking about getting a trident maple of about 2-3" in diameter from Underhill Bonsai. These have been ground-grown for a few years and then potted up. I've seen other people's specimens and have noticed that most leave a bit of the collar of pruned branches in the hopes of them healing over in the future. I really don't like the fact that, while they EVENTUALLY heal over, the resulting knob is not aesthetically pleasing. I mostly don't try to heal scars. I normally exaggerate them a bit and carve them at or below the surface. I then rub a powdered charcoal/water mixture on them, and they eventually blend in and add a bit of character to the tree. Is there something about the physiology of the trident that would make this an unwise technique?

 

[SeanS]

I make the final cut of pruned branches deeper into the trunk, removing the collar that may have been left from the initial pruning. The final deeper wounds heal over flush and don’t leave a protruding scar. I see no need to leave a collar once the original branches/shoots have died back after being pruned.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

To answer the question, likely not. The tree will compartmentalize the wound at the area the dieback stops, usually at the next internode unless an infection is present.

However the wood will rot fairly quickly. So some form of treatment is a good thing to do. There are various products, lime sulphur, marine epoxy, wood hardener etc that will help. The lime sulphur can be timed with India ink, or perhaps the charcoal that is being used at present.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[River's Edge]

I'm thinking about getting a trident maple of about 2-3" in diameter from Underhill Bonsai. These have been ground-grown for a few years and then potted up. I've seen other people's specimens and have noticed that most leave a bit of the collar of pruned branches in the hopes of them healing over in the future. I really don't like the fact that, while they EVENTUALLY heal over, the resulting knob is not aesthetically pleasing. I mostly don't try to heal scars. I normally exaggerate them a bit and carve them at or below the surface. I then rub a powdered charcoal/water mixture on them, and they eventually blend in and add a bit of character to the tree. Is there something about the physiology of the trident that would make this an unwise technique?

Trident heal very easily and quickly when healthy. Leaving a stub is usually a temporary step before finishing the cut for a better result of healing the scar. I see no harm in disguising the scar with some charcoal and water mix to age the appearance. As long as care is taken to prevent decay and fungal infection. I would encourage you to use a sealer on the cut edge and refrain from roughing up the scar area! They heal faster with better results on a smooth surface.
I have used a mixture of India ink and water to change the appearance of Mt. Hemlock scar areas while they heal and it has been effective.