Care of Trident Maples in Non-Ideal Conditions

[DaveG]

To those of you who are very good with trident maples, I have an important (to me, anyway) question.

Brent Walston (of Evergreen Gardenworks) recently granted me the opportunity to purchase a few specimens of Acer buergerianum 'Evergreen's Rough Bark'. Given the historical supply of this tree and how long I waited for the opportunity to purchase them, I happily ordered four. (Thanks again, Brent!) Given how long it took to get these, I would prefer not to play dice with them.

However, I ordered them in spite of the fact that the conditions I can currently give them are far from ideal. Week-by-week, I'm presently alternating between Dallas and Austin. In Dallas, I can only give them approximately 5-10% sun. (I know this would gradually kill them.) In Austin, I could choose to give them anywhere from 25% to 100% sun. But if I leave them in Austin when I'm not there, I know they would often not be watered for at least 3 to 4 days at a time.

I've already learned that, in their original 2 ¾" square pots, they can only tolerate about 1.5 days before their next watering in 25% Austin sun. I know there are some very good reasons not to just pot them in very large containers. Otherwise, that's what I would do.

Assuming I couldn't care less about preparing them to be bonsai at this point (as, in the short term, their health is my primary concern), do any members of this community (especially those who have kept tridents and/or have lived in Texas), have recommendations regarding what pot size and % sun to set them up with for now?

Thanks.

 

[Jason_mazzy]

can you plant them in the ground?

 

[Martin Sweeney]

DaveG,

Can you find a Bonsai Nursery or general nursery that will board them for you? I know it used to be $10/month to board trees here in NC. I would think if you potted them into larger pots, boarded them until October and then brought them home you should be good.

Regards,
Martin

 

[DaveG]

can you plant them in the ground?

No, I cannot.

 

[DaveG]

DaveG,

Can you find a Bonsai Nursery or general nursery that will board them for you? I know it used to be $10/month to board trees here in NC. I would think if you potted them into larger pots, boarded them until October and then brought them home you should be good.

Regards,
Martin

I'm considered this. But since I haven't formed a relationship with any local nurseries, it would be an issue of figuring out who to use without having personal experience with them first. Without knowing them, I'd be worried I'd go back to pick up my trees only to discover they died, were lost, were stolen, or were sold. There's really not a lot I could do about any of that if it happened.

 

[KennedyMarx]

I'd you can't plant them in the ground you could set up an automatic watering system. Paul Pikel just put up a video on the OrlandoBonsai YouTube channel about how to make a small one.

 

[Martin Sweeney]

DaveG,

Dallas Bonsai Gardens seems like a stand up organization, although I have never had any interaction with them. I don't know of anyone else in TX.

I have a "Evergreen Rough Bark" Trident from Brent. I planted it into a growing bed about 4 years ago. It has since been placed into a large nursery pot. It does not yet appear any different from any of the other tridents I have. In fairness to Brent, I didn't do a good job growing this tree. I am expecting much more rapid growth this year and therefore to start seeing some rough bark formation.

Regards,
Martin

 

[DaveG]

I'd you can't plant them in the ground you could set up an automatic watering system. Paul Pikel just put up a video on the OrlandoBonsai YouTube channel about how to make a small one.

I've considered an automatic watering system for my potted plants in the past. (I will probably eventually build something with a moisture sensor and control valve for each pot.) But my experience has been that this sort of thing generally requires a lot of setup time, calibration, and testing, to make sure it's reliably doing what it's supposed to be doing. I looked at Paul's video and, while his principle appears sound, it looked like he just put this together about 5 weeks ago. Given that the system would be totally new if I build my own, disastrous consequences would most likely result if the automatic part of it fails while someone else is watching the trees. This leads me to believe I'd probably be better off depending on manual watering for now.

DaveG,

Dallas Bonsai Gardens seems like a stand up organization, although I have never had any interaction with them. I don't know of anyone else in TX.

I have a "Evergreen Rough Bark" Trident from Brent. I planted it into a growing bed about 4 years ago. It has since been placed into a large nursery pot. It does not yet appear any different from any of the other tridents I have. In fairness to Brent, I didn't do a good job growing this tree. I am expecting much more rapid growth this year and therefore to start seeing some rough bark formation.

Regards,
Martin

Dallas Bonsai may be a great establishment, but I can't say, as I've never visited it. (I should some time though.) But I would gather from the size of their store (seen on Google Street View) that it's not the kind of place that would take care of someone else's trees for any length of time. Their store appears to occupy roughly half of what probably used to be a small drive-through fast food joint, such as a Taco Bell. It's probably a very nice place (and I think I will give it a visit at some point), but I wouldn't expect them to offer to care for my trees.

Regarding the bark, I think one of these should probably be at least 1 or 2 inches thick before I'd expect to notice any significant difference. After that, it still may take some time to thicken up. If I had to guess, the picture Brent posted in his catalog is using a U.S. quarter for size reference (since that's what he uses for the rest of his pictures), which would probably make the tree about 1.5 to 2 inches thick. That's probably the original Roughbark in the picture, so there's really no way to know what one looks like when it gets much bigger than that.

Do either of you have any suggestions about maximum pot size or optimal Texas sun exposure for trident maples the size of mine?

 

[iant]

Keeping container plants and alternating between two cities is challenging. I'd do an automatic drip system but it's not ideal. The size of the pot isn't really the issue. If you have a less than ideal watering system give them only morning sun. It will give you less room for error. I don't know how you're calculating your percentages of sun... I assume you're not talking about using a shade cloth? Either way you're looking at trouble with alternating locations. You should set up a drip system. It's worse than hand watering but you can't let 3 days go by without watering if you're not there. A heat wave will cause a lot of damage in that time.
Ian

 

[Eric Group]

Tough to keep most maples happy in the kind of heat you get in Texas, especially if they are not in the ground and not attended to daily. I'd have to recommend an automatic watering system as well. I had some success with the misting systems you can buy at Lowes or Home Depot in the past. Pretty inexpensive, easy to install... Get a timer for the days you aren't around and the only real calibration you need is to make sure the mist is getting on the spots you need it to hit. Set the timer to come on early in the morning, and perhaps another time during the day depending on the time of year.. Then when you are home, turn the timer off and let them get to the ideal balance of moisture for a day or two until you leave again. It will be a balancing act, but I think you will be ok as long as you don't just swamp them with the automated system... Work with it a few times to see what time gives you the desired wetness. I know many people obsess over their tree watering, and it IS important to monitor it and water correctly when you are able, but if you are only leaving them for 3-4 days at time, you should be fine with an automated system... There is NOT going to be a perfect option here unless you have a Bonsai master willing to swing bye your home 2-3 times a day while you are gone, or unless you want to leave them at a nursery somewhere...

Other suggestions you might hear are generally going to be temporary options to keep a tree alive while you are away- things like burying the pots in wet sand, wrapping with aplastic bag... But I wouldn't recommend anything like that for the every week situation you described... Once or twice a year while on a trip... Yeah, that would be fine... But for an every week thing, automation is prolly the way to go.

Good luck! My Trident died a couple years back during a really hot summer here in S.C., so please take that into account when considering my advice!! It was not a happy time...

 

[Smoke]

Reminds me of the Chinese woman who disposed of her infant in the sewer system. The baby was saved, fortunately.

If you can't care for a baby then why in the hell do you allow yourself to become pregnant.

I think most here get my drift....

I can actually equate an infant with a tree.....sorry thats my passion.