Been out of the game for awhile as I haven’t had room to store my bonsai and have left them in the care of my father at his property. I have just instructed him to let them grow in their large pots without interference and have done so for atleast 8 or 9 years. I am now back at my parents for a little while and finding time again to do some work with them again and found they have grown quite a bit. Anyway! I have this trident maple that started much smaller (about 30cm) than what it is now and is now quite big (about 60cm) and thinking of doing an airlayer where I’ve marked with red and trunk chopping it to make two. And then doing a tourniquet airlayer after the yellow line to shorten the trunk. Thoughts if this a bad or good idea? I’m open to any other thoughts on what I could do with this. TIA!
Air and trunk chop trident maple
Air and trunk chop trident maple
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Watto
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Re: Air and trunk chop trident maple
Welcome to Ausbonsai and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
I think this is probably a Japanese maple and not a trident. You could probably do an air layer at the top red mark and get two trees. Is it worth it must be a decision for you.
I think this is probably a Japanese maple and not a trident. You could probably do an air layer at the top red mark and get two trees. Is it worth it must be a decision for you.
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shibui
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Re: Air and trunk chop trident maple
That's definitely a Japanese maple. Tridents only have 3 points on the leaves. JM have 5 or 7 points.
The upper layer will give you a more dynamic trunk with bends but you will need to decide which of the 3 large branches will be the main trunk line. even then it will be quite a long road to actual bonsai.
Agree that the lower trunk is too long and straight so the lower layer would reduce that a bit but will it be worth while?
The tree appears to be weak and unhealthy, probably from lack of light, repotting and fertilizer over those years. Weak trees may not always respond well to layering or to trunk chopping so there's a chance this will not succeed. If you can make the layers that will probably take nearly a year to do then some more time to grow them on a bit before you can even start the process of creating bonsai with the results.
If you are happy to take those chances and spend the time you should go ahead with your proposal.
I understand that sentiment can play a role in decisions like this but sentiment does not make good bonsai
I'm not sure the material justifies the time and effort and would probably scrap this one and look for something with more immediate promise but everyone will see it differently.
The upper layer will give you a more dynamic trunk with bends but you will need to decide which of the 3 large branches will be the main trunk line. even then it will be quite a long road to actual bonsai.
Agree that the lower trunk is too long and straight so the lower layer would reduce that a bit but will it be worth while?
The tree appears to be weak and unhealthy, probably from lack of light, repotting and fertilizer over those years. Weak trees may not always respond well to layering or to trunk chopping so there's a chance this will not succeed. If you can make the layers that will probably take nearly a year to do then some more time to grow them on a bit before you can even start the process of creating bonsai with the results.
If you are happy to take those chances and spend the time you should go ahead with your proposal.
I understand that sentiment can play a role in decisions like this but sentiment does not make good bonsai
I'm not sure the material justifies the time and effort and would probably scrap this one and look for something with more immediate promise but everyone will see it differently.
http://shibuibonsai.com.au/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
