Fusing trident whips ?

[Paulneill]

Hi guys

I want to fuse 6 trident whips together at the base And create a triple trunk using the 3 larger in the middle and the 3 thinner around the outside would become low branches .for inspiration I'm using Walter palls triple trunk maple .
After fusing I may end up layering the whole thing.
The whips I'm using are between 1 and 2 seasons old.

How would u go about fusing them?


I was thinking that
Maybe 3 hose clams at the base might do the job?

[AGarcia]

Tridents fuse quite easily. Tie them with something that will prevent movement but can expand with growth like grafting tape or something similar.

AG

[kcpoole]

Grafting tape shodu be good. allow movement and will stop scarring as much as hard material
if you want to use a had tie, then cable ties are the easiest

Ken

[shibui]

The best way I have found to fuse trident trunks at the base is to thread the trunks through holes drilled in plate metal about 3 mm thick then plant the whole lot so the plate is 1 or 2 cm under the surface. Feed and water well to encourage growth. As the trunks thicken the metal cuts off circulation and the trunk produces callus at that point and roots that spread out over the plate. Where the trunks are close the callus unites readily and the trunks end up joined together after 1 or 2 years.
This method only unites the trunks at the base so it won't unite trunks together to give a thicker trunk above the ground.
If you want to unite trunks quickly I would scrape bark off the sides to be joined then tape them together with grafting tape. Should be united in a month or so. Without removing bark it takes a year or 2 to join properly.