To Air layer or not... Trident Maple

[Ware-bonsai]

Hi guys,

I was lucky enough to be able to go to Ray Nesci's on the weekend with some Christmas money given to me (bonus). And i picked up this beautiful Trident maple.

Front


I just found the tree really interesting and loved the V in the trunk and also the scar (which i was thinking of extending higher to bring some interest to the trunk at a later stage).

Upon seeing the tree i thought of creating a massive broom style tridant like below (after many a year of course )


I've continued to stare at it and to my eye it is just too high, so i was thinking of trying 2 air layers on the main branches to drastically shorten the height... and if i can manage to do it correctly i can get 3 good size trees for the price of one

The Main trunk is roughly 50mm in diameter and the smaller trunk is 40mm.

I'd love to get some feed back on whether you think this is a worth while course of action (any advice and tips on good practices with air layering and also when to do it seasonally would be good also)

[kcpoole]

You could definitely shorten both trunks

The one on the left Back to that first branch, and the other to about twice the height of the shot one

Nice tree

[Glenn C]

Bargain, two for one, layer above where Ken suggests to cut the right hand trunk. A little late in the season but its been such a wacky summer it might work

[Tony Bebb]

Hi Ware

Definitly couldn air layer the main trunk but not sure if you have enough room for one on the small trunk. Depends on where you would like to cut it back to. Might be better to use the small trunk for good cuttings. Best to type in air layer Maple in the search box as there would be some good detailed posts there.

Don't mean to be picky, but the nice old Maple photo you have is an Informal Upright, and yours would make a nice Twin Trunk Informal Upright in a few years.

A good score.

Best Regards

Tony

[daiviet_nguyen]

Hi there,

Under Board index | Species, training and growing information - Natives and Exotic | Propagation you will find several posts on layering etc.

Good luck.

PS: your image is gone from wherever you hold it.

[Ware-bonsai]

Hi guys,

Thanks a lot for all the replies, i really appreciate it. I have a lot of reading to do before i'll feel confident in attempting this i think.
Luckily i have a good friend who has about 100+ bonsai's and has a lot of knowledge who will hopefully love to help and hold my hand!

I've been doing a fair bit of reading around the forums as suggested and i read that Tridents strike quite easily from cuttings, even from large cuttings? Has anyone had experience in this?

I think my plan of action will be to leave the tree until next spring and do my work on it in late spring so hopefully i can cut the main trunk by this time next year.

In the mean time i think i might cut back the smaller branches to encourage some good branch movement because at the moment all the branches off the main trunk shoot straight up.

Can anyone recommend a good root growth for maples?

[Ware-bonsai]

Hi Ware

Definitly couldn air layer the main trunk but not sure if you have enough room for one on the small trunk. Depends on where you would like to cut it back to. Might be better to use the small trunk for good cuttings. Best to type in air layer Maple in the search box as there would be some good detailed posts there.

Don't mean to be picky, but the nice old Maple photo you have is an Informal Upright, and yours would make a nice Twin Trunk Informal Upright in a few years.

A good score.

Best Regards

Tony

Thanks for the reply Tony, have you got had much experience in making large cuttings from maples? any tips and advice?

Also with the informal upright your right about the twin trunk. Ideally what I'd love to achieve is a great carving in the centre of the 2 trunks and have it informal upright with a nice large spread.