Digging a Large Trident Maple

[BobbyLane]

I think moving it right would away some stability

 

[NaoTK]

straight trunk is fine if you want the straight trunk style

I like the tilting, more dynamic with the left-ward apex. Then I might notch the first branch down. The first branch is the focal point to counter the apex

 

[BobbyLane]

The branch at the front along with the thick stubs, are what makes this appear more 'tree like'. frontal branches occur in nature. as long as it isnt poking your eye out, its good. and offers some mystique, rather than having a bare front which isnt so natural but common for more 'bonsai' like tridents. comes down to tastes i guess.

 

[BobbyLane]

reminds of my old hornbeam. I toyed with the idea of asymmetry but in the end decided it just excuded more power moving upwards, you can see how powerful it looks here compared to the more dynamic tree on the left and again beside the oak i shared above. I went with subtle asymmetry not so pronounced. while the branches on the left side were moving up, the ones on the right are more moving right and downwards in regards to last branch on the right. but both primaries exit the trunk at a similar level.

 

[BobbyLane]

straight trunk is fine if you want the straight trunk style

I like the tilting, more dynamic with the left-ward apex. Then I might notch the first branch down. The first branch is the focal point to counter the apex
View attachment 470156

but moving it right doesnt make the trunk less straight for this material. its always gonna be a straight, heavily tapered formal upright style trunk. if one is going to move a tree right, one should also take into account the form of the roots. as a slightly leaning tree is more convincing if the nebari is more powerful on one side, in this case a stronger root spread on the left, a bit like the hornbeam i just shared. to me it looks like its toppling over now. sort of like the leaning tower of pisa

 

[BonsaiMatt]

I appreciate the input guys, always nice to get fresh eyes on a project.

I don't think I can tilt the tree too much, the base wouldn't look right, and I feel that the straight, heavily tapered trunk looks best vertical.

The eye poker branch doesn't bother me in person, it provides a lot of depth to the canopy, and the trunk would look very blank without it. I have tried to direct the growth of that branch to the right to provide a window to the trunk all the way up, probably needs some more adjusting. But I can see that it could be distracting in images. For the most part I don't mind eye pokers on deciduous trees.

I'm not in a rush to remove any of the branches I photoshopped, just thinking about it and enjoy hearing other's thoughts.

There are a couple reasons I want to remove the second branch on the left: 1) it kinda blocks the circled area below; I really like that area on the tree, and would like to draw your eye there. 2) that branch jogs towards the viewer and ends up directly above the first branch, blocking it from getting sun.



Sorry for the wall of text, but I know most of you just scroll through the pictures anyway

 

[BobbyLane]

If you dont like that second branch you could try cutting it back hard to its first twig, then wiring that twig off to the rear, then begin training the first left branch up into the space. that will also give you a lil bit of asymmetry. could remove second branch once lower one fills the gap.id keep n have it trained back for further depth. i may keep it but use as a depth branch.
looking at the tree i think it needs more depth now.

 

[BobbyLane]

I decided my second left branch was blocking the first left one a bit too, it was in early images and you can see over time I cut it back futher n had it rise up, which allows light in to the canopy, then I trained the first left one upwards too



in those images you can see how the second left branch became more vertical.
and you can also see depth, from twigs appearing from the back. you want to train twigs to appear from the rear, and put some empasis on back branches, but granted yours has some filling in to do.

so when viewing from the side. you want branches to be on different planes. its ok if they exit the trunk from the same area, you want to train them so theyre not on top of each other. so from the side, you want some moving into foreground and some moving into the rear. maybe you understand that already! I wont clog up the thread any further

 

[Schmikah]

Thinking about future development of this tree.

I did a virtual of some top structure that I hope to get in place over the next year. Eventually I want a broad, wide canopy around that structure, but that'll take years.

Then I messed around removing a couple branches to see how it might look. I like the middle image best. I hear a lot about asymmetrical design these days (which the third image provides), but for some reason the symmetry of the middle image works for this tree.

Would be interested to hear anyone's thoughts.

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View attachment 470136

I like the third one but there needs to be some balance. As is shown in the third pic, you would need to take out something on the right side mid tree.

The second would do much the same but you would still need to balance it by clearing out something on the right.

Either way you need some negative space on the right side as well as the left.

 

[BonsaiMatt]

Trident maple chop scar healing over the years, pictures are around one year apart:

 

[BonsaiMatt]

This spring I repotted this trident, changing the planting angle a little. I also added a few more root grafts during the process.

Here it is before and after repot and trim:


And this morning:

 

[R0b]

thanks for sharing as usual lots to learn for me well done

not the biggest fan of the angle change the right side above the first branch is now a bit too vertical

 

[BonsaiMatt]

Around a month ago (May 13) I did a defoliation and trim.

Before:


Halfway:


Finished:

 

[BonsaiMatt]

Here we are today, a month after full defoliation:

 

[BonsaiMatt]

Some fall color:

 

[Davidlpf]

Nice little beast!! thanks for sharing.

 

[BonsaiMatt]

Trident maple progression over the last six years. Pictures are around one year apart.



Spring 2024:

 

[Cdd123]

I really love what you’ve done with the apex. Well done!

 

[BonsaiMatt]

First round of defoliation in 2024, before pic:



After removing 99% of the foliage, some light pruning and a lot of wiring:

 

[BonsaiMatt]

A couple weeks after full defoliation, enjoying the morning sunshine with a fresh crop of leaves: