Trident maple

[Steven]

Nice work Ben! It will be a much better tree because of your efforts.

Here is one of the one's I worked on last night.

2016 July (1).JPG

2016 July (2).JPG

Regards,
Steven

[shibui]

You've reduced the depth quite a bit Steven. I assume that was the aim?
I have noticed that as those sort of cuts heal the callus will grow back just as thick, sometimes even thicker than the original roots. You may find that you'll need to repeat the procedure again in a year or 2.

[Matthew]

Steven

Ripper little trident !!! did you do a post on how you got that lateral spread ?

[longd_au]

I am very impressed with the cut. How did you both do it?

[ben17487]

Thanks for the suggestions and interest everyone and thank you squizzy, Steven and tuma for sharing your experiences!

I was confident at the time of the cut but the worrying has begun, only time will tell though.
I didn't use any sphagnum, didn't think of it at the time.. The mix has been kept moist though, hard for it to dry out in winter.

Keen to see how the nebari develops on your tree Steven, it's already looking great!

Has it sprouted new roots as yet, it is a trident after all?
To soon? Ok I'll check again tomorrow
Healthy tree + good advice + good follow thru = great tree

Not game to check yet lol

Cheers,
Ben

[Steven]

G'day,

Matthew, that one was grown over a plastic disk in the same way as my Future Shohin Maples and the roots have been cut back several times.

Neil, I cut them back and sliced off the bottom with the hope of getting more secondary roots to fill in the gaps.

Longd_au, I used a knob cutter then applied rooting hormone.

Ben, Here is one that I cut back like yours last year. I just remembered about it so went into the garden and dug it up. I'll clean it up this weekend and report back

2016 August (1).JPG

2016 August (2).JPG

2016 August (3).JPG

Regards,
Steven

[ben17487]

Thanks for taking the time to dig and show us Steven, good to see the possible results!

[Steven]

G'day Ben,
Here is the last one I posted after being washed and cut back. I've out it in a pot now and will start growing taper into the trunk.

2016 August (4).JPG

2016 August (5).JPG

2016 August (6).JPG

Regards,
Steven

[Waltron]

..I was confident at the time of the cut but the worrying has begun, only time will tell though...

I know how you feel. 2 winters ago I sawed a trident about 3 inch's above the previous soil level (because I wasn't happy with the base or height) and shoved it in a pot of standard potting mix. I didn't really care at the time whether or not it survived, but I started to care about a week later. Where I cut it the trunk was about 10-12cm in diameter so It was kind of like a giant cutting, and much to my surprise it did survive! If mine is anything to go by I don't think yours have any trouble.

...Or maybe I was just (very) lucky.

Best of luck.

[ben17487]

Awesome little tree Steven! So was the same method used on that as I have done? A complete rootless chop? Or were there some smaller roots left behind?

Also what happens to the bottom side of the cut? Is it effectively like a wound from a trunk chop that will callous over? Should I be worried about rot?

Thanks for the reassurance Waltron it's a relief to hear that yours survived the treatment, I hope mine does the same... I think there are some buds beginning to swell on it as we speak.

Cheers,
Ben

[Steven]

Hi Ben,

This one was cut right through with a reciprocating saw at the widest point which included the top half of the bigger roots. There were no fine roots left at all.
The flat bit will eventually callous over but as Neil says, it may end up pretty thick. I don't have the experience that Neil does so maybe he or someone else could let you know if rotting is ever a problem?

Regards,
Steven

[ben17487]

Hi Ben,

This one was cut right through with a reciprocating saw at the widest point which included the top half of the bigger roots. There were no fine roots left at all.
The flat bit will eventually callous over but as Neil says, it may end up pretty thick. I don't have the experience that Neil does so maybe he or someone else could let you know if rotting is ever a problem?

Regards,
Steven

No worries, thanks for the feedback, it's all somewhat reassuring

[Levi.mcewan]

I don't use rooting hormone on pruned roots. I read somewhere that those hormones have no effect on roots, only on stem material Can't vouch for the truth of that info though - it just seemed like a good excuse to save some time and resources by not using any

Mid July would be fine. I've already started to dig tridents out of the grow beds and root prune those but I'm comfortable with the process so it does not cause me any stress. Maybe someone new to the concept should wait until closer to spring - less time to worry between root prune and new buds growing

After severe root prune and when trying to induce new roots plant the tree a bit deeper than usual so the cuts are well covered. Don't want them getting dry before new roots get going properly.

use honey for root pruning, it stops rot and disease

[ben17487]

Buds are beginning to swell and open..
Hopefully means it's on the right track

[ben17487]

The trident is leafing out nicely, but the first leaves that opened are beginning to discolour.. I'm worried they may be suffering because roots may not have formed yet.
What's the best course of action? Should I put the tree in a humid environment or just leave it to do its own thing?


The leaves second down from the apex are the ones with some spots appearing.

Cheers all!