AusBonsai

I checked root development on one of the experimental tridents today. This was one that originally had such a poor root system that I sawed the trunk leaving just a single small root on one side just above the cut. I can't find photos of that stage - probably not expecting it to do well I didn't even bother to record it, just noted on the pot 'almost no roots'
The tree grew quite well over the following summer. At winter repotting I checked root development Not only had roots grown around the cut base but also a couple have sprouted higher up the trunk. Note the slight bulge where those upper roots are growing. I cut those upper ones off and pruned the trunk to define the best trunk line. If tridents are able to do this with just a simple saw cut why do we bother with all the layering and root grafting techniques

Repotted this one again today. The mass of small roots around this trunk should develop into a fine plate like nebari. Time to start growing some branches.....

So good that you share your experiments, thanks shibui.

I don't seem to have any trouble getting roots to grow on my tridents, branches and leaves, on the other hand, are not so quick to appear... I suspect I need to give them a year where I just leave them alone, to get a feel for what they need from me...

Hi Neil

Looks like you will have to change the writing on the orchid pot, to awesome roots

Nice roots Neil, I just dug my tridents on the weekend and cleaned up the roots and whenever I was worried I cut to much I told myself Neil cuts heaps more so nothing to worry about.

On the trunk where you pruned the root that was growing high is it possible for a branch to form in that area now that's it's above ground. I buried some of my tridents to deep and now wondering if that section that was under ground will ever form branches in case I trunk chop it to low.

Thanks in advanve

That's a very good question tt and I can't give you a definitive answer because I have never personally tried pruning such a trunk that hard. In theory I'd say probably should produce buds because it was once a trunk with leaves and therefore buds but being under the ground may change that
I have tried to strike trident root cuttings. They stay alive for several years but have ever been able to produce any growth buds which I take to mean that tridents cannot grow from below ground parts..

We will have to wait for someone brave (or desperate) enough to try this out and let us know the results.

More on tough trident maples:
A few weeks ago I posted a bunch of trident seedlings to Mike in Thornleigh NSW. Unfortunately I missed an important bit of the address so the seedlings wandered around up there for a week then came back. These seedlings are sent with no packing around the roots - just bare roots with a few shakes of water wrapped in a plastic bag. I was confident they would still survive the challenge but sent Mike fresh replacement trees (which did make it) sothe returned pack was heeled in (roots buried in soil) and left alone while I got through the more pressing transplanting and repotting.
Last week I could see new red buds showing so I have trimmed some of these and potted them up - more to see how they go than for a need for more trident stock

This is the larger one from the pack Fresh roots are growing strongly There's no point in having such a long root system on a potential bonsai so it has been pruned I hope that all those who received seedlings have done a decent root prune of all theirs before potting up????

Also no bonsai future in that long trunk Just to check that it was not only one fluke that may or may not survive I've done the same to a few from this batch and labelled them so I can keep track of how they go.

Yep they should be fine. They are tough as nails I reckon.

Ken

HI guys , I have an entire grow beds of 2 year old seedlings {50 odd } that were cut above the roots last year because they simply weren't good bases . These were left lying on top of the ground over winter after digging {rejects}, but my conscience got the better of me so I planted them out all have survived .

A couple of them do have a shoot or two below or at ground level but I believe they are from old dormant buds just planted lower as a result of the entire root removal .

Numerous small trunks were found submerged in a pond , most likely been there for a couple of months ,these too were planted out and grew .

There is a reference to my big collected tridents in "tridents Galore", they were flat cut like olives , No roots .From memory 1 or 2 didnt make it but that would have been from slack after care not the entire root mass removal .

Many older trunks 3-5 yo are cut back to nothing and re-planted if I get a bit over excited with the root pruning process , hence the reference Noxious weeds .

Cheers . Alpineart

Glad to hear that its not just me. Others have found that tridents, at least, can cope with major root interference. I think most trees are far tougher than we give credit for.
I always try to hide a smile when I see someone misting the roots of a tree after removing less than 1/3 and having it out of the pot for less than 5 minutes for fear of the whole tree dying when roots are exposed to air or get slightly dry.

Hi Shibui , totally agree with you , I often shake my head . I have watched you trim many trunks and sometimes I think its a little too much but they survive .

I often push them a bit harder just for good measure to see how far things can be pushed especially if I have large numbers of that species . I have lost Olives , Chinese Elms , Crab Apples and Japanese Maples from flat cutting but its usually the lack of after care that is leads to the resulting death .

I can guarantee more have survived than died from pushing the boundaries .

Cheers . Alpine .

As you would well know Neil, tridents aren't the only species that survive this sort of treatment. Here's a Corky Bark Elm I cut hard a couple of years back. The tree now has a far better Nebari as a result of the early rectification of the roots. Although in saying that there is many species I still would not attempt to cut back like this.

Cheers,
Pearcy.




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