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My "frankenstein monster" trident maple creation looked like it was growing like a weed all summer - and I was psyched. Unfortunately, I took a much closer look at the beginning of the fall season and noticed that about 1/3 of all the trees had died - forensics showed that I had neglected to remove the twisty-ties that were at or below the soil line and I effectively girdled about 1/3 of the trees. I started this bizzarre creation 2 years ago and I forgot that I buried the roots that deep.

So I removed all the twisty ties that I could find and also then removed all the dead trunks - the trees that still were alive seemed to have grown enough that they are staying in place without anything holding them to the skeleton. I still used some of the saran wrap type of 3 inch tape to keep the trees in close contact to the skeleton and to each other. A few of the trees are starting to fuse.

This spring, I'm going to repot - rearrange the roots for an attractive nebari and place the whole thing in better draining soil. I also need to "fill in the gaps" with some new trees.

I don't think "frankenstein" will ever be a world class tree and in the long run, it probably would've been easier (and cheaper) to buy a trident with a trunk this big, but ... I have to admit, it's a fun thing to try, horticulturally, and worse comes to worse, it's a helluva conversation starter!

I'll post more this spring, before and after repotting - got a new digital camera for xmas.

peace, Steve

3-Jan-2006	#65
scribewicz just a guy and his trees Join Date: Feb-2005 Location: St. Paul, Minnesota Country: USA USDA Zone: 4 AHS Heat Zone: ? Posts: 32	My "frankenstein monster" trident maple creation looked like it was growing like a weed all summer - and I was psyched. Unfortunately, I took a much closer look at the beginning of the fall season and noticed that about 1/3 of all the trees had died - forensics showed that I had neglected to remove the twisty-ties that were at or below the soil line and I effectively girdled about 1/3 of the trees. I started this bizzarre creation 2 years ago and I forgot that I buried the roots that deep. So I removed all the twisty ties that I could find and also then removed all the dead trunks - the trees that still were alive seemed to have grown enough that they are staying in place without anything holding them to the skeleton. I still used some of the saran wrap type of 3 inch tape to keep the trees in close contact to the skeleton and to each other. A few of the trees are starting to fuse. This spring, I'm going to repot - rearrange the roots for an attractive nebari and place the whole thing in better draining soil. I also need to "fill in the gaps" with some new trees. I don't think "frankenstein" will ever be a world class tree and in the long run, it probably would've been easier (and cheaper) to buy a trident with a trunk this big, but ... I have to admit, it's a fun thing to try, horticulturally, and worse comes to worse, it's a helluva conversation starter! I'll post more this spring, before and after repotting - got a new digital camera for xmas. peace, Steve __________________ peace, Steve