Trident Maple...Good Specimen?

Franco

Hey guys, I am just getting started in actually practicing and cultivating my own bonsai. Ive been reading and studying for the past year but have not bought anything untill this summer. So far Ive planted a maple and dawn redwood in my yard for future use. I also have a willow leaf ficus and a chinese elm for my indoors. I am thinking about purchasing this trident maple, but was wondering first what you guys think of it. To me it looks like it could have nice potential. Here it is.

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007

Sure does have some potential! I like the really rugged nebari . . . its like it has a story to tell. Clean up the canopy a bit and I think that this could be a great little tree.

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Carl_Bergstrom

[Soften as appropriate per recent discussions]

I'd be careful not to confuse a twisted, claw-like set of too-large roots with what you describe as "a rugged nebari". Yes, it's rugged - but it's also a mess that's not worth fixing given what lies above it.

[/Soften]

-Carl

Joanie

The nebari certainly seems a bit one-sided. Generally you would look for "the spokes of a wheel". Developing a more balanced root system is certainly possible, but may not be a task you want to take on, since it would take quite some time to achieve.

Joanie

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Vonsgardens

Franco,
There are the obvious issues with the nebari. Additionally, the scarring on the trunk will take a while to heal and is generally straight after the bump (the big curve over the nebari). If this were to be the only trident I was going to have in a pot for a while I would probably pass and look for a tree with a more solid underpinning and a bit more "excitement" in the trunk (scale, movement, taper). Are you in a club or have access to one? John

Carl_Bergstrom

Or to put it another way: the following is not "an interesting nebari."



It's an ugly mess.

-Carl

Vonsgardens

But I really do like the bark. Too bad it is, so..........., well,..........., so ugly. John

bonsaikc

Franco,
Welcome to the world of bonsai, and here comes the advice:

Don't buy the tree. Trident maples are fantastic for bonsai, and one of my favorite species. I am really excited by their vigor and regular habits that make them easy to train. But I personally have wasted years on trees with no potential and I'd hate for you to do the same. Trident maple nebaris should be balanced and graceful, even if they are massive. But the nebari is not the first thing you should look for when shopping for bonsai material. Look at the trunk. Does it have good taper, good movement, or both? If one or the other, think about buying it, if both, buy it now! This is the hardest thing to fix about bonsai. Nebaris can be created in a relatively short amount of time (five years or so), and branches can be created and ramified similarly. But fixing a bad trunk is an exercise in futility. Why buy something that you will have to put in the ground for years and maybe never get a good trunk on, when you can get a cutting from a local bonsai enthusiast, treat it correctly, spend the same amount of time, and have a good tree?

Always give weight to the first six inches of a tree's trunk. Other things can be fixed.

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Joanie

Here's a question from a newbie, using this tree for the example.

If the rest of the trunk had decent taper (which these pictures really don't show well, the winter picture would be better) and the price were reasonable, would it be worthwhile to buy the tree and ground layer it? Or, say, it had a decent little shohin hiding up in the upper branches somewhere, and the trunk were worth saving with a lower apex?

Joanie

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