Trident maple project start!😎

[Danonito]

I purchased a big trident that was already in a pot for seemingly quite some time for a very reasonable price in the back of a small landscaping nursery. I don't have any trident so i thought now is the chance to learn about it. I chose a line and and cute everything else (10cm at the base, ~30cm height from an initial height of about 2.5m). Important to note is I would have liked to do this 2 weeks earlier but there was no extension growth yet so i went for it. I also cut a cake slice (bottom half) of the roots and I still have plenty or fine roots so I'm 99% certain the tree will survive.

I will put it in the ground over a tile to help heal all the chops faster and hope to see new buds within a month Any trident experts that can share tips on how to move forward with this? I'd appreciate it and also any other feedback/idea/critique.

Before

After

 

[SeanS]

I’m no expert but have been growing a few tridents.
Is the “after” pic before or after the root work?

 

[namnhi]

I purchased a big trident that was already in a pot for seemingly quite some time for a very reasonable price in the back of a small landscaping nursery. I don't have any trident so i thought now is the chance to learn about it. I chose a line and and cute everything else (10cm at the base, ~30cm height from an initial height of about 2.5m). Important to note is I would have liked to do this 2 weeks earlier but there was no extension growth yet so i went for it. I also cut a cake slice (bottom half) of the roots and I still have plenty or fine roots so I'm 99% certain the tree will survive.

I will put it in the ground over a tile to help heal all the chops faster and hope to see new buds within a month Any trident experts that can share tips on how to move forward with this? I'd appreciate it and also any other feedback/idea/critique.

Before
View attachment 536546
After
View attachment 536545

Nice starter plant. I like what you have done as far as cut back goes.

 

[River's Edge]

If you wish to develop a flatter nebari with strong radial roots then at some point in the future you will have to do a lot more root work to find thicker roots to begin with or select some to begin working with. The thick mass of feeder roots will not sort themselves out in an orderly fashion. Placing this size of a root ball on a tile in the ground will have a limited effect. Unless you have already taken this step, I would plan for it next time around.

 

[AshleyMammal]

If you wish to develop a flatter nebari with strong radial roots then at some point in the future you will have to do a lot more root work to find thicker roots to begin with or select some to begin working with. The thick mass of feeder roots will not sort themselves out in an orderly fashion. Placing this size of a root ball on a tile in the ground will have a limited effect. Unless you have already taken this step, I would plan for it next time around.

This is good advice and is certainly where i've fallen foul on a few of my trees!

Trunkline looks good and you can certainly cutback harder on those roots next time around.

 

[Danonito]

Is the “after” pic before or after the root work?

its after i combed a bit the surface roots and after I cut the cake slice.

If you wish to develop a flatter nebari with strong radial roots then at some point in the future you will have to do a lot more root work to find thicker roots to begin with or select some to begin working with. The thick mass of feeder roots will not sort themselves out in an orderly fashion. Placing this size of a root ball on a tile in the ground will have a limited effect. Unless you have already taken this step, I would plan for it next time around.

I love that feedback and makes sense, thank you. I could have definitely done more but given the amount of top growth and rootbal I removed, I didnt want to do more. My plan is to put it in the ground for this year and after I see sufficient recoup , I will do the root sorting you suggest. Indeed in one year a tile wont do much but better to have it to avoid stuff growing downwards. Overall yes I would really like the bottom 10% of the trunk to start widening but there is very good root flare there already.

 

[flor1]

If this tree was mine I would take at least half of the roots that are left off if not more.
Tridents will take a lot of root reduction and never miss a beat.

 

[leatherback]

MUCH more rootwork indeed.

and

 

[Danonito]

MUCH more rootwork indeed.

and

I 've watched your vids already Jelle, great manual for a noobie on this species like myself. Do you think its safe if I go tomorrow and remove more root? Currently its covered in a cloth bag with moss so it doesnt dry out.

 

[bonsaiwood]

I am no expert either, but considering sap is flowing through the tree this time of year, I would consider sealing off the large wounds to reduce the chance of infection and dieback. Looking forward to see what you do with this tree.

 

[Danonito]

I am no expert either, but considering sap is flowing through the tree this time of year, I would consider sealing off the large wounds to reduce the chance of infection and dieback. Looking forward to see what you do with this tree.

I sealed everything after the pic, cant risk dieback with this one but healing will take long , only 1 of the 5 trunks remained post chop

 

[River's Edge]

I could have definitely done more but given the amount of top growth and rootbal I removed, I didnt want to do more.

Think about it this way, You removed most of the tree that relied on the root system. A much smaller root system would be fine at this point in time. The trunk holds lots of reserves and the roots need to supply a much smaller amount of buds, foliage and branches. Therefore this is actually the best time for aggressive root work. in addition the root work occurring first limits the sap bleed when the cut back occurs. This indicates that the preferred sequence is roots first then the chop when performing both at the same work session.

 

[SeanS]

I 've watched your vids already Jelle, great manual for a noobie on this species like myself. Do you think its safe if I go tomorrow and remove more root? Currently its covered in a cloth bag with moss so it doesnt dry out.

I’d definitely go back and reduce the root ball similar to Jelle’s video.

Here’s are some more examples. Focus on the depth/flatness of the remaining rootball. You want to try to get the tree sitting flat on the bottom of the trunk, with roughly no more than 1” of root “height” left.



Ignore the length of these roots, they were still being cut shorter. The depth of the football is the main focus.

 

[leatherback]

The tree will likely never have a better starting point than now. It was aggressively grown out to be tall. It is full of health, energy and juvenile strength. If you remove the roots to a radial crown of a few cm tall, the tree will act as any teenager would. With insult and beefing up to show you you were wrong to cut those roots and branches.

I believe in using the power of health and going in, doing the hardest part of the job ensuring that in later stages of development you do not need to remove big roots anymore.
Splitting this over years means weakening the tree multiple times. Keep in mind that the real "power" of the roots lies in the growing tips. Most of the roots are for anchoring rather than uptake. And healthy tridents regrow growing tips in a matter of weeks, when healthy.

In short.. Yeah, I would do the bigger job now.

Find the main roots from the top down. See pics of @SeanS above to understand what main roots look like. They can be thinner but typically there is a place where you see loads of stronger roots departing the trunk. That sets your substrate level. Then work up on the bottom of the trunk until you reach the trunk. In between these two levels you leave most of the roots. The rest is removed. That should leave you with what you see above. If it seems like you might end up with no roots, take a pause and choose a wider range. But these can take A LOT as long as they go into an open substrate, are well-anchored in the pot and are not allowed to down nor dry out in the first weeks.

If this scares you, consider getting hands-on help from someone who has done this before.

Where are you located in the Netherlands?

 

[SeanS]

If you’re unsure of how much of a root reduction a trident can take have a look at these photos.

I don’t recommend taking off these many roots, but I did and the tree turned out just fine 🫣

Spring 2020




Spring 2021





Spring 2023

 

[RoadManDenDron]

Remember, you can prune the top and have access to it pretty much whenever you want,

You only get access to the roots around every 3 or 4 years, you gotta make it count when you have the roots out!

 

[Danonito]

I see all voices echoing the same thing , I will do more today Thanks everyone for the feedback!

Where are you located in the Netherlands?

Im in the outter Rotterdam area

But these can take A LOT as long as they go into an open substrate, are well-anchored in the pot and are not allowed to down nor dry out in the first weeks.

Do I follow the same approach if I plant it in the ground? Currently putting it in a pot isnt an option for me.

 

[leatherback]

Im in the outter Rotterdam area

OK, we are not going to quickly get together!

 

[Danonito]

Sorry for the very late update, I did more footwork as you all suggested, I couldn't take pics of the final product but you can see the photo during the work as it was getting dark. I also reduced some of the heavy roots. Feedback appreciated