Does it HAVE to be outside?

[Sherri]

What about this guy Charles M and Kuromatsu Bonsai? He seems to have done it for a while...

 

[tmmason10]

What about this guy Charles M and Kuromatsu Bonsai? He seems to have done it for a while...

Ya I don't know about him. I've seen his videos and I think we have much more knowledgable people here in the nut house.

 

[jk_lewis]

Here's a trident, followed by the standard Japanese maple.

 

[Sherri]

Why do people seem to prefer the trident over another type of maple? I see trident this and trident that all over this site. So what's the attraction?

 

[milehigh_7]

As you may have deduced from Jim's pics a 'Trident' is a type of maple (Acer buergerianum) it has this type of leaf:

His other maple is a Japanese Maple or (Acer palmatum) has this type of leaf:

 

[Klytus]

They are not Palmatums and are available as Bonsai?

And why not.

 

[jkd2572]

Tridents are very hardy and grow fast easily. You can go from a stump to a bonsai in five years. Much more hardy that the Japanese maple. Their leaves also reduce very nicely. They can also take much more heat than japenese maples. I have never killed one. I have killed 3 Japanese maples.

 

[Dav4]

Tridents are very hardy and grow fast easily. You can go from a stump to a bonsai in five years. Much more hardy that the Japanese maple. Their leaves also reduce very nicely. They can also take much more heat than japenese maples. I have never killed one. I have killed 3 Japanese maples.

...though palmatums are more cold hardy then tridents.

 

[Sherri]

Now we're getting somewhere - yea -- I looked it up so figured it out.
So what are some other quicker/easier Bonsai?
What are the most difficult and a newb should avoid?

 

[jk_lewis]

...though palmatums are more cold hardy then tridents.

Cold weather folks can switch to the Amur maple which is almost (but not quite) as good as a trident.

This is strictly my opinion, but I think trident maples are much more attractive as trees (and bonsai) than Japanese maples -- especially the fancy Japanese maples.

 

[edprocoat]

I am in the process of killing my Jap Maple right the heat here being over a hundred for the past two weeks has been causing the leaves to turn brown, and its not in the sun for over a week now. I think I will look for a trident as i want a maple and seem to have one strike against me already in the maple department and only two more till its game over for me.

ed

 

[jkd2572]

Try a trident. They are very tuff. We had 100 days over 100 last summer. They just kept on smiling. I had Japanese maples defoliate themselves in august and grew back leaves in September. The Japanese maples leafed out this spring and then died. one of my tridents I'm developing in a very large pot in full sun all day.

 

[milehigh_7]

I broke down and bought a Trident this year... while it has been a cool summer so far it is growing well.

 

[milehigh_7]

Now we're getting somewhere - yea -- I looked it up so figured it out.
So what are some other quicker/easier Bonsai?
What are the most difficult and a newb should avoid?

Look what thrives as landscape in your area and ask when you all go for lessons. What is easy for me here in Las Vegas might not work for you. ;-)

 

[Tim_T]

The American Bonsai Society has a nice list of North American trees used for bonsai. I suggest looking over the list to find trees native to your area that can be used. Here is a link to the list:
http://absbonsai.org/bonsai-article...list-of-north-american-plants-used-for-bonsai

 

[Redwood Ryan]

I broke down and bought a Trident this year... while it has been a cool summer so far it is growing well.

Wish I could say the same!! Hello 110F every single day.

 

[tmmason10]

...though palmatums are more cold hardy then tridents.

I was going to say that but didn't. I've wanted to try a trident anyway and I may someday. They must come from the semi-tropical part of japan.

 

[Dav4]

I was going to say that but didn't. I've wanted to try a trident anyway and I may someday. They must come from the semi-tropical part of japan.

Tom, I have two tridents I've been working on for a bit. They started as cuttings from another trident that didn't survive my 3 season porch experiement. Each was grown out in my yard on Kelley Blvd for maybe 6-7 years and saw temps fall below 0F on multiple occasions with just a little twig dieback. Both have been in pots for 4 plus years as I try to correct the mistakes I made with the nebari while growing them out...both had 95% plus of their roots removed back in early february in an attempt to regrow the nebari so several inches of trunk are buried below the soil line. That's a 6" screw there in the pic of one of the trees. What I'm trying to say is that they grow like weeds, even in frigid North Attleboro.

 

[Sherri]

Okay ...

Nebari
Also known as "buttressing", nebari is the visible spread of roots above the growing medium at the base of a bonsai. Nebari help a bonsai seem grounded and well-anchored and make it look mature, akin to a full-sized tree.


That makes sense to see what grows here. That link is helpful although I wish it was listed by zone instead of by plant/tree. We really want to try a mountain laurel and plan on wandering around today to see what might be an appropriate specimen. My plan is to take some pictures to bring with me of several different options and will focus the pictures on the bottom foot of the plant. We also have some beautiful maples -- I'm not sure what they are but most around here tend to be sugar maples - Acer Saccharum.

 

[jk_lewis]

Referring to my earlier post about Amur maple being a substitute for trident in cooler areas. Here is an Amur maple in the North Carolina Arboretum collection: