My Trident Maple

[Ashleypaine90]

Hey guys, thought I'd start a thread for my new addition I got a trident maple, I've taken lots of photos, let me know what you think, opinions and thoughts on progression. I'm going to remove the moss, the guy at the nursery said it needs a prune too so I'll do that, but it's got some new growth and looks healthy, advice on this would also help. Thanks guys


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[Ashleypaine90]

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[Daluke]

Nice pick up.

These trees are pretty vigorous and need a lot of water and feed.

Removing the moss is a good start to see what's underneath it all.

Some of the leaves look dried out - maybe from a lack of water penetrating the soil through the moss or maybe it's been exposed to some dry hot winds?

I'd be misting foliage at night and in the morning when I can.

The tree looks old - some bark forming up and the lichen on the trunk. In terms of forward planning you might consider trying to rectify the reverse taper by leaving a sacrifice branch at the top to get the juices flowing more between the roots and top.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Ashleypaine90]

Thank you daluke, yea I'm really happy with it thanks for your input, I'll be removing the moss tomorrow morning, I'll be feeding with osmocote slow release to mix into the soil and I've got seasol liquid fertiliser, could I mix this into the misting bottle to spray directly on the tree or is this better used directly on the soil? Could you please explain what you mean by sacrifice branch? Sorry I'm still learning, quickly I might add haha. So would you prune off the dried out leaves or see if they come good with watering?
Thanks again


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[Daluke]

A sacrifice branch is a branch you let grow wild without any trimming. Doing this helps to fatten a section of the tree. When the desired effect is reached, the branch is removed. It's a temporary thing not forming the design of the tree.

Seasol is not fertiliser - it's a tonic that helps improve the tree. You can and should spray onto the foliage to help condition the tree. You can't over seasol.

Be careful using fertiliser balls - they break down quickly when it's hot and don't release nutrients at a constant rate. As a remedy, make sure you water heavily to wash out excess.

If a leaf looks dead cut at the base of it and don't disturb the baby buds as these guys will be needed.

[Ashleypaine90]

Thank you so much daluke, so would you recommend leaving this top part of the tree as my sacrifice branch? That's good to know about seasol I will continue to use it, what would you recommend instead of or as well as the osmocote fertiliser balls? And I will make sure I leave the little guys alone I've seen a few pruning/pinching videos online, it seems like the foliage on these trees can grow very quickly and do they like full sun like my juniper? looking forward to working on this beauty, I'll keep you all updated.
Thanks again


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[Ryceman3]

Any liquid fert (Powerfeed, Charlie Carp etc) can be used in conjunction with both Osmocote & Seasol. Tridents love fert and water, and sun for that matter. I would think it could take full sun fine as long as you are watching the water. How it goes in full sun immediately though might depend on where it has been positioned beforehand. If it was not in full sun before, the existing leaves may not be able to cope with it... new ones that grow however will be good, and I think you'll get a better growth rate if you opt for full sun.
Enjoy!

[Daluke]

I would try and get the first branch to thicken by leaving a bud to extend.

I'd also leave a bud at the top to go too.

I see a thin, tall, elegant tree. It shouldn't need too much thickening!

The reverse taper (protrusion) on the trunk might need some attention long term.

When you fertilise think about what you are trying to achieve in terms of new leaf shoots, roots, flowers, fruits. Fertiliser should display quantities of components in terms of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K). Remember shoots, roots, flowers and fruits = n-shoots, p-roots, k-flowers and fruits

Liquid fertiliser is my preference but a paIn because you need to do it more regularly as you loose a lot seeping out the bottom of the pot.

Many people alternate liquid fertiliser to ensure the tree gets trace elements (other elements that aren't NPK) contained in small amounts in the fert.

[hawkeyes]

Join a local Bonsai Club, if you can. You learn quite a lot about Bonsai there.

[Ashleypaine90]

Hey guys thank you for all your help, I've been out today and grabbed some powerfeed liquid fertiliser. On the back it states 90ml (9 caps full) per 9ltr watering can for trees, does this apply to bonsai or shall I scale it back to a less ml per ltr? And shall I use this every two weeks as directed? Also when talking about the NPK, is it the higher the better? Or is this dependant on species of tree etc? Thanks


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[Ashleypaine90]

Hey guys, little update, removed the moss, applied osmocote slow release and mounded a top layer of bonsai mix on top to cover a couple of little roots, I've misted the soil and tree with powerfeed liquid fertiliser, and tomorrow I'll give it a good water, the soil is still damp from when I got it so I don't want to overwater


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[Ryceman3]

Hey guys thank you for all your help, I've been out today and grabbed some powerfeed liquid fertiliser. On the back it states 90ml (9 caps full) per 9ltr watering can for trees, does this apply to bonsai or shall I scale it back to a less ml per ltr? And shall I use this every two weeks as directed? Also when talking about the NPK, is it the higher the better? Or is this dependant on species of tree etc? Thanks


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Use at full strength. Treat bonsai like any other plant in terms of fert in that respect. Liquid fert every second week is good. Look forward to lots of healthy growth over the coming months.

[Ashleypaine90]

Thanks ryceman, ah good! Will be looking forward to it! I read somewhere that using non organic fertiliser wasn't good for bonsai as it's easy to over fertilise and burn the tree, so I want to make sure (if that's correct) that I'm not over feeding
Thanks again


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[Jarad]

I wouldn't use the "bonsai" soil you get from bunnings, it will he fine for now though.

When you get yourself to the bonsai nursery grab some of their soil if you can.

[Ashleypaine90]

Hi jarad, thank you for your help, I got my bonsai soil from a nursery, it's the searles bonsai mix is that ok?


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