question about multi trunk bonsai

Doddins

Ive tried browsing the forum for this and only found examples relating to trident maples. but im after trying something, i have 5 younge hawthorn shoots all about same size (5 inches or so) ...and wanted to achieve a look of a big hawthorn tree near my house that has many trunks all fused into one big trunk and its twists and turns but looks very majestic.

anyway im drifting again, i was wondering if it would be possible to actially plant these shoots together and bind them would they eventually (over a few years) grow to make one trunk by fusing together?

if so how do i go about doing it? if not and its a silly thing to even think of then sorry lol was just a thought as i walk past this lovely tree every day

Adam

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Yes, I'm sure you could, but I'd like to see a photo of the actual landscape tree to give you a better idea of how it might be done.

Regards,

Matt

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onlyrey

Hi Doddins,

There is a famous site with trident maple trunk fusing (http://www.dugzbonsai.com/tridenttrunk.htm). I have tried to plant a few plants together, and let their trunks fuse. What I have noticed is that these "groups" generally grow very weak (stay thin) and don't fuse. The same plants, when put in the ground with enough separation thicken much faster (there was a very interesting thread about competition of plants in proximity in this somewhere in this forum). This is why I gave up the fusing thing, although others appear to have made it work for ficus as well (http://www.interfaceengineer.com/bo...jects/ficus.htm); I am sure other species work.

Maybe the trick to getting the trunk fusion to work is to have a configuration that minimizes the competition between the trees, a species that doesn't care much about growing in clumps (maybe like maples and ficus), and taking care of them and having the patience to replace dead seedlings when they die, etc.

You might want to do an experiment, and plant four of them together in a clump, and another on its own, and see what happens.

Good luck with your project.

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Disclaimer: All my bonsai are beautiful, the pictures lie.

Doddins

As always im grateful for replies and thanks for sharing some of your knowlegde on this area with me, i think im going to try what you said and try to grow a few together and one seperatly...i already have a hawthorn growing quite well that i can compare to.


I will try and upload a foto by this evening as im passing by it again later so i will take a picture.

Thanks again for your replies.
Speak soon
Adam