Trident Maple repotting advice sought - buds opened earlier than expected

[treefu]

This is only the second year I've had this tree and it feels like the buds have opened earlier than expected this year. If this was a Japanese Maple, I'd probably repot nowish, but as it's a Trident Maple, I know I should probably be more cautious until the threat of temperatures dropping has gone.

So I'd like any thoughts about when's a good time to repot based on the state of the buds. In the absence of any contrarian views, I'll probably repot in the next couple of weeks and keep it under glass.



and a closer-up:



Many thanks

 

[Nybonsai12]

if this were mine, i'd repot now. With buds opening, it's a good time and i wouldn't wait much longer. as for aftercare, i would ensure it is kept somewhere that temps will not drop below 40.

 

[Jr737ng]

Repot it now and keep above freezing. Protect the new growth from frost

 

[leatherback]

Repot now.
Chances of deep frost in london is now very low

 

[Shibui]

What @leatherback said.

Tridents can cope with light frost after repot and as the buds open.

 

[Piedmont Bonsai]

I agree with everyone above, you are good to repot now.

Tridents are very hardy and resilient trees.
My teacher, who is a Japanese trained artist, says that tridents are often repotted in the dead of winter in Japan in preparation for the Kokufu-ten.

Now is the optimal time for this one. Once the shoots really start extending, it will be more stressful to repot as the increasing foliar mass will have more demand on the damaged root system from the repot.

 

[Paradox]

Also agree with the above.
Do it fast, the tree won't wait for you and protect from freezing

 

[Dabbler]

Yeah - I would have repotted a few days ago already - this is one of the frustrating parts of bonsai, as some of the tree's say, " I'm up" like weeks before any others. Now starts the bonsai shuffle from frost, enjoy.

 

[rockm]

The sooner the better, like yesterday. Keep it out of freezes, frosts are more tricky. Even though frost won't really hurt the roots, it will burn new foliage resulting in damaged leaves. If frost is deep enough for long enough, it can kill leaves completely. Time to be vigilant

 

[leatherback]

this is one of the frustrating parts of bonsai

Nah, not to me. To me, this is the most exciting time in bonsai, seeing all trees wake up from bareness and pushing out healthy foliage!

 

[leatherback]

seeing all trees wake up from bareness and pushing out healthy foliage!

I mean.. Gotta love it.

 

[treefu]

Thanks for all your thoughts. I'll repot the day after tomorrow. The weather here is very cool and damp but not freezing so the buds will open slowly enough for Friday not to be too late I think. I'll post a picture too, as it's going into an Aiba Koyo pale blue pot from Japan.

 

[Don Blackmond]

This is only the second year I've had this tree and it feels like the buds have opened earlier than expected this year. If this was a Japanese Maple, I'd probably repot nowish, but as it's a Trident Maple, I know I should probably be more cautious until the threat of temperatures dropping has gone.

So I'd like any thoughts about when's a good time to repot based on the state of the buds. In the absence of any contrarian views, I'll probably repot in the next couple of weeks and keep it under glass.



and a closer-up:



Many thanks

I have nothing to add that was not said already, except I think you have your Japanese Maple and Trident Maple hardiness reversed.

 

[treefu]

I have nothing to add that was not said already, except I think you have your Japanese Maple and Trident Maple hardiness reversed.

Interesting. As I understood it, Trident Maple is susceptible to frost damage and has even been known to die in temps below minus 10 degrees celsius. Japanese maple is much less prone to damage from sub-zero temperatures. This makes sense because the Japanese Maple is often called a Mountain Maple (山モミジ) where you'd expect temperatures to drop below zero frequently (you'd also expect its leaves to burn from too much direct sunlight for the same reason). Trident maples on the other hand have no problems with direct sunlight as long as they have water, because they originate from the Chinese lowlands (I'd need to check that though). Being lowland trees though, very cold temperatures are not their thing.

Do you understand that differently?

 

[treefu]

The pot is an Aiba Koyo pot made about 30 years ago, bought from Mansei-en in Omiya last year ...



The tree in place, potted in a mix of coarse kiryu, fine akadama and some horticultural charcoal. I could have sprinkled some Magamp-K but it's too early, even for slow release fertilisers ...



Tightening and cutting the guy wires ...



And we're done. The moss is there as much for practical reasons as aesthetic - there's quite a few fine surface roots I'd like to keep.

 

[Don Blackmond]

Interesting. As I understood it, Trident Maple is susceptible to frost damage and has even been known to die in temps below minus 10 degrees celsius. Japanese maple is much less prone to damage from sub-zero temperatures. This makes sense because the Japanese Maple is often called a Mountain Maple (山モミジ) where you'd expect temperatures to drop below zero frequently (you'd also expect its leaves to burn from too much direct sunlight for the same reason). Trident maples on the other hand have no problems with direct sunlight as long as they have water, because they originate from the Chinese lowlands (I'd need to check that though). Being lowland trees though, very cold temperatures are not their thing.

Do you understand that differently?

Regarding the timing of repotting, you can be more aggressive with trident maples, meaning repotting further into the growing season. You were showing bud movement and commenting on the timing of repotting a trident versus japanese maple. My experience is that once your trees begin to leave dormancy and begin active growth a trident maple is much more tolerant to repotting and aggressive root work and branch work than a japanese maple. Once you have fresh root growth and tender shoots you will need to protect both from freezing. In other words, you have a longer window to repot a trident maple than a japanese maple. *Of course all of that depends on the health of the tree and the care after the work.