AusBonsai

Hi all,

Just thought I would post this trident that I have taken to with my dremal.

I am now developing the primary branches and was afte some thoughts on the current locations. Are they positioned well? Do I need more?

Cheers

Squizz

Geetings,
Nice to see you have not removed all the low shoots. Work on the low shoots as there is a lot of straight trunk, with very little taper up to the first branch that you have wired. Expose more of the root structure and make sure you have the correct front.
Keep up the good work.
Happy bonsai,
Bruce.

Hi all,

An update on the tree for anyone interested.

I have given the foliage a bit of a thinning out and hopefully allowed you all to see what I had assumed might be the branch structure.

Happy to hear anyones thoughts

Cheers

Squizz

Im no bonsai master, but from my understanding, big scars should always be at the back of the tree. but if you did this you would have a forward facing branch Time for someone else to chime in I think

I'm certainly no expert on tridents, (they hate me) but

(deep breath) the branches are all very fine and evenly placed, but the trunk goes from thick to thin very suddenly. That's the first problem to address. Before you start ramifying everything in sight, consider growing a sacrifice branch or two from the top third, extending at least a metre, with lots of fertiliser and no pinching, to get the top closer in thickness to the lower 2/3rds. Keep the low branches alive as best you can, but don't discourage them too much by pinching back until the trunk is better balanced.

If it is possible to use the back for the front, then the scar won't show, but another alternative (which nature may do for you anyway) is to extend the scar from the top to the base - make a semi-hollow trunk from it.

Good luck, it's certainly a tree that is worth spending the time on, and stands well.

Gavin

Thanks for the comments guys,

It may be hard to see in the photo but the centre is already hollowed out ( though I may do some more as this artwork grows) so I see it as one of the features of the tree. Not sure how impressed a bonsai master might be by this but I dont mind it. The hollow section requires a fair bit more work. Will take on board the whole trunk thickening thing as I was intending to make the top section thicker. Everything from where the scar ends upward is only 1 and a 1/2 years old so it has plenty more growing to do. The problem for me is I gave up on bonsai for years and most of my trees died ( not a big problem there were never great bonsai in that collection) but now that I am back into it I need a few trees that resemble some sort of tree whilst I work on trainning stock, hence why the whole branch ramification may be premature. This happens to be one of the trees I am keeping in some sort of shape to keep me interested so the results may come slower.

By the way this is not a defensive reply I am more than happy to have the tree critisized, its the only way to learn! My skin is fairly thick.

More thoughts welcome

Cheers

Squizz

Hi Squizzt , mate its a trainer .They can change a hundred times a year .I change my mind every day , if i didn't i wouldn't be learning much .The more i do , the more i learn , the more i learn the less i think i know . A good artist can do anything with a stick , this is no stick its a trainer .My Japanese Maples have been in training for 3-4 years but i change my mind on the front , the branch placement , the roots , everytime a get to look at them , its all good . ..

Many would be happy to have a trunk like that to play with i know i would , i killed my big trident ,well i layered the top off then killed the base . .I may stand corrected but i read somewhere many many moons ago probably from some guru that deciduous tree's shouldn't have jins or shari's, now every second tree has some type of dead wood or jin or shari .We are all uniquely different , thank god , or our tree would look the same , its called progress and change , individuality and uniqueness. By the way i'm still an amateur hacker and chopper .

Cheers Alpineart

Ok

After a long look at this tree ,over the last week or so, today I have taken to the tree again with the dremal with a somewhat risky bit of carving around the start of the branch unions. The intent is to make a more in proportion transition from the large trunk to the new section of tree. I say it is risky because I have had to go quite close to some of the branch unions. I would love to hear your thoughts on this theory. I am aware there may more than likely be some disasters here but I dont mind taking it to the extreme to get some more interesting results.

Squizz

Hmmm, a bit hasty i would say sqizz. You are not heeding what is being said and trying to create a masterpiece in one year. It takes time and the info usually given of letting it grow see what the tree does would be good advice. To many times i have been hasty and regretted my decisions to carve or jin or cut off. You will change your mind as the tree produces more branching and gives you more decisions to make. The general rule for me now is to work the tree then let it sit and do its thing for a year or so and your whole outlook will be different. What you need is more trees to work on now. Patience, patience, patience.

bodhidharma wrote:You are not heeding what is being said

I'd agree ,, Sqizz, i was a little disapointed when i saw that you had carved the trunk out as you did, carving looks ok but not sure it was the best decision for your tree .

yeah may have been a bit impatient

Though if I do loose this section due to being to dramatic I guess I can start again from underneath.

You know what might make an interesting thread, is an example of all the wrong discisions (the more experienced) people have made on here that have resulted in disaster. I am sure there are plenty. would be interesting to see I think.

Thanks for the feedback so far.

Squizz (self confessed most impatient bonsai enthusiest.)

squizzy wrote: Squizz (self confessed most impatient bonsai enthusiast.)

Good to see you dont take yourself to seriously Sqizz. Patience comes with experience and knowledge. Good idea for a thread, you should start it.

Yeah Bodhi,

I dont mind a laugh at my own expense.

I just need a few weeks for this to die and I am onto it


Squizz

thought I might do a quick update on this tree as its a great example of things gone real bad. Its fair to say I have done a bit of experimenting and failing when it comes to this tree. After carving a massive hollow in the trunk ( not sure why) I thought I would fill it up with spag moss and tape it up to see if the tree had the ability to reproduce a section itself. The rsults showed last autumn when I pulled the tape away.

Trident maple with Ariel roots.

Does anyone else have that in their collection?

Squizz